When we met Ali Vincent ( of The Biggest Loser) at last year's Disney Princess Half Marathon Expo, she mentioned to us that she had a goal of doing 13 races in 2013 ( She may have actually said 13 half marathons, I'm not completely sure). We both left the expo thinking that was very ambitious of Ali and what a great goal for her, but never thought anything more about it after we left.
As we neared the last months of 2013, my sister and I both realized that we both would be completing 13 races ( not all half marathons) in 2013!
Here's a quick recap of the ones I did.
Lets start at the begining.
January
Walt Disney World 20th Anniversary Marathon.
This was special to me because it was my first marathon. In addition of it being my first, it was an anniversary year for Disney so they made it extra special with a huge medal and a new course that had a mile spectacular during mile 20. If you haven't already read it,
here is a full recap of the WDW Marathon.
February
Virginia is for LoversValentine's day 14k race
March
Shamrock full marathon. (Virginia Beach)
Having this race be in the city I live, there was no excuse for me not to sign up for it. Since this was my second full marathon, my only goal was to beat my time from my first marathon, which was not hard because it was a very flat course. I succeeded. I was so proud of my time that I knew it would be very hard to beat that in future marathons. I signed up for this same race for 2014.
You can read about the 2013 Shamrock race HERE.
April 15
Boston marathon
I felt very fortunate to have completed the marathon considering all of what happened this year. I knew I was not going for a PR but just to be a part of it was such an honor. To this date I have never ran a race that had the support of the spectators as this one did!
If you'd like to read about my experience, I've documented it HERE.
April 27
Big Sur
I was able to be a part of the Boston to Big Sur challenge-2 marathons 2 coasts in 13 days.
Having been told that this course was harder than Boston, I was not expecting to do better with my time. Even though the course was more difficult than Boston, I completed it 7 minutes less. There were more hills on this course along with different elevations, which brought on beautiful scenery. One direction you would see the ocean, the other, a mountain. I would say this was the hardest marathon, yet the most beautiful to date. That's why I will be doing this one again next year.
HERE is Why I thought that Big Sur was so great!
May 4th
6 days after completing the Big Sur I ran the Rivertowns marathon near my hometown in Pa. This marathon was not planned but after finding out that it was opened to any participant that ran the Boston marathon this year, I knew I wanted to run it. I even beat my Big Sur time by one minute!
You can read about this race HERE.
After doing many races this past spring. I decided I needed a break. I didn't complete another race til the end of summer.
September
Labor day weekend.
Rock and Roll Virginia Beach half marathon.
It was very hot so not my best time. But I did get to run with my good friend I do not see often. In addition, my mom and sister came to visit and ran the relay. Rock and Roll is a great race series that has much entertainment. That evening we enjoyed listening to the bands that were included to all race recipients.
Here is the Recap for the Rock n Roll Half.
October
Crawlin Crab half marathon, Hampton Virginia
I enjoyed this race because it was fairly close to home, so no travel expense, yet far enough away where I don't run daily. This race was much smaller than other races I've completed, which made it easier to get to your corrals in the beginning and get a good spot at the finish line to meet friends. It turned out to be a beautiful race day.
Click HERE to read the full Crawlin Crab recap.
October 26th
Wicked 10k
My sister and mom came down again to virginia beach for another race. It was a fun run with no pressure on time. We enjoyed seeing many great costumes during the race. It turned out to be another beautiful race day.
Recap for Wicked 10K can be found HERE.
I knew I wanted to complete a race this month because it was the month of my birthday. I looked into several turkey trots over Thanksgiving, but because they were mostly 5ks I felt I wanted to do more than that considering all the food I would consume for Thanksgiving. That is why I signed up for a virtual race through Us Road Running for the month of November. You pick your own distance (5k, 10k, or half). You log your own miles on what ever day you choose and then submit it to their website. You even get a nice medal for completing it. I completed the 10k before my Thanksgiving feast!
December
Surf n santa 10 Miler
For my final race of 2013, my sister and I did the Jingle Bell Challenge. We ran this race in my home town and it was great seeing a bit of snow and many holiday decorations on our run.
Here is the recap from this race that we posted earlier this week.
As it ended up, my sister and I did a combination of different races, but we both ended up doing at least 13. I think that last virtual race put me at 14, but that's one extra race for good measure!
We didn't start 2013 out having any specific race goals or wanting to complete a certain amount, but thought it was pretty cool the way it ended up. ~L
Did you have specific goals for 2013?
