Skip to main content

2014 Year in Review

In line with last year's 2013 Year in Review, I wanted to do something similar for 2014, but with a separate new year "goals" post to follow. 

2014 began on a good note with a marathon PR at the Clearwater Marathon

A happy finish with my adorable niece running behind me!

and then quickly declined after injuring my foot.

I got to wear leggings like every day.

After taking six weeks off, I felt recovered enough to run an "easy" Iron Girl half-marathon in April

Just happy to have made it through uninjured!

and then moved through highs and lows as I began summer training for the Marine Corps Marathon and transitioned to a new job in September, after more than 12 years of working at USF.

My good-bye picture as I drove away on my last, sad day.

I trained through some still-lingering foot pain for 15 weeks, but in the end, I successfully completed the Marine Corps Marathon in October, exceeding my goal. 

Finishers!

Things got hectic right after the race. I went on my annual family trip to Ohio, which coincided with Halloween.

Very cold Floridians in front of our rented country house in Yellow Springs.

Me with "Dorothy," trick-or-treating in Yellow Springs.

Then birthdays and holiday events rolled in one after another, and through all that I went through more major changes in my personal life. At the very end of the year, though, I felt firmly on my feet and content with where I was in life, and that's saying a lot.


2014 Year Running Totals:

Not as good as last year, but I took a couple months off total due to injury.

Already, I've started the new year off right by running this morning, still trying to find my favorite way through my new neighborhood.

Though slightly, my pace is coming back down!

In addition to running, I hope to incorporate more of this:

I recently returned to boot camp after way too long of a hiatus!

as well as biking. I traded in both my cruiser and road bike for a more suitable (for me) hybrid. I bought one that I really loved


and then decided I wanted to upgrade to a slightly better version (on order)--just in case there are any triathlons in my future ;-)

I have no idea what 2015 will bring me, but if 2014 has taught me anything, it's that I know I'll be able to handle whatever comes my way. Late last year, I rediscovered a necklace that a USF friend had given in a prior year, and it couldn't have been more timely and relevant:

The inscription says, "All the strength you need is right there inside you."

Comments

Anonymous saidā€¦
Best wishes for a healthy, joyful 2015. See ya at boot camp!
Anonymous saidā€¦
Whoops! Anonymous = Melanie B.
Lee Davidson saidā€¦
Thanks, Melanie! Same to you. I definitely plan to see you out there :)
shirley saidā€¦
Thrilled you've found that "strength". Moving forward should be a little easier now. Happy New Year Sweet Girl.

People Liked to Read...

Play of Summer

Even though it is still technically spring time, the summer college semester begins in one week, the weather is consistently sunny and mid-80s, and baseball season is in full bloom. I embrace this time of year as a time to extend my outside activities beyond my nightly walks, to bike rides, benefit runs, beach days, and a newfound interest in softball. Yesterday Joe and I began the day with a 7:25am 5K run to benefit the Child Abuse Council . One of Tampa's largest and most regular 5Ks, the Gunn Allen Financial May Classic brought out over 1,500 of Tampa's athletes and do-gooders. Since it was a last-minute decision for us to register, we did not have a a chance to train, but we had both been keeping a somewhat regular exercise schedule in the weeks leading up to the run. Our goal was to finish, preferably to finish running. And we did. 36 minutes of concrete pounding, rhythmic breathing, and humanistic awareness, and we had completed our first 5K together, having run th...

A Three-Race Finale

So, after the Nike Women's Half Marathon I ran in DC, I told myself I'd take a rest afterward. But then someone kept tempting me to sign up for races. And because I was on a PR roll, I thought, hey, why not--let's end the spring race season with a bang. So I ran three races on the three weekends following Nike: the Police Appreciation 10K, Miles for Moffitt 5-Mile, and the Secret Service 5K. I PR'd two out of three, and finally got my 5K (official) PR I'd been hoping for. Interestingly, I placed eighth in my age group for all three races. Police Appreciation 10K - 5/5/13 Official Time: 0:49:46 Official Avg Pace: 8:00 mins/mile Age Group Place: 8/45 The unseasonably cool and breezy weather that morning made for a great race through scenic downtown St. Pete. Even though we learned later that we were led backward through the course as it was designed, which explains why we only saw the back sides of mile markers, we still ran the correct distance.  ...

My Ulele Feast with the Tampa Bay Bloggers; Or, That Time I Ate Alligator

Monday night, I had the delightful opportunity to be among the  Tampa Bay Bloggers  on a tasting event* at  Ulele  (pronounced yoo-LAY-lee), a newish restaurant along Tampa's River Walk, which is in a revitalization phase. The restaurant, which opened this past fall, has already received several significant commendations:  One of the Top 100 Restaurants in the U.S. (by Open Table),  One of the Best New Restaurants in Florida (by  Florida Trend ); Best Overall Restaurant (by Yelp Tampa Bay); and, its most recent achievement,  the  #7 spot for Top 50 Restaurants in Tampa Bay , as scored by Laura Reiley of the  Tampa Bay Times .  So I felt honored to eat there, and I'd been wanting to go since it opened, but reservations were always difficult to get. When I saw the call for bloggers to attend this event, I jumped at the opportunity! Fortunately, I was chosen--among may others: That's a lot of hungry bloggers! A...