2013 in Review: Running and Fitness

By Janelle @ Run With No Regrets | fitness

Dec 27

It’s almost over.  2013!  Since there are just a few short days left in the year, I figured I should finally give a recap of all of my health and fitness experiences from 2013.

New Experiences

Barre:  Last December, I bought a Livingsocial coupon to take barre classes at Barre Focus Fitness.  While intimidating at first (I don’t have a dancer’s body), it was a lot of fun, super challenging and I loved that it was an all female environment.  I may need to sign up again!

Yoga:  This time thanks to Groupon, I was able to take hatha yoga classes at Raja Yoga.  I wrote about my early experiences with yoga.  It’s something I really should continue to help with flexibility and mental clarity!

Cycling:  While I never got around to writing an entry, I really stepped up cycling.  I finally got my old busted road bike fixed and started using it as a form of fitness and transportation.  I fell in love!  Shout out to my boyfriend for making it happen!

Core and More:  I am so happy that I signed up for this cardio kickboxing class.  Hopefully we can keep it going in 2014.  It looks like Boot Camp will be gone forever in February, so I’ll be relying on this a lot more!

Injuries

Running Shoes:  2013 was the year of the foot…and not in a good way.  Not only was I injured,  I’ve struggled with finding the proper footwear that provides comfort and support.  While I tried the Asics GT-2000’s and the Brooks Ghost 5 , I still haven’t found the running shoe of my dreams.  But hopefully with a gait analysis and a running coach, we’ll get this all worked it!

Stress Fracture:  The year came to an abrupt halt when a sharp pain in my right foot wouldn’t go away.  Lots of shattered dreams and abandoned races, physical therapy, and the dreaded BOOT for 19 weeks…19 weeks!

Plantar Fasciitis:  I finally get cleared to run, I buy new shoes, and then my arches feel like hell.  Back to PT!  Thankfully all is well now, and I’m slowly moving forward to getting back to running.

Check out one of my favorite posts of 2013, 5 Things I’ve Learned After 3 Rounds of Physical Therapy 

Weight Management

I’ve learned a lot about nutrition this year and I’m grateful that I have free access to a dietitian.  When I had the stress fracture, I gained a lot of weight.  If I didn’t change my eating habits, who knows where I’d be!  I’ve written a lot of entries about the things I’ve learned.  My last nutrition counseling session sums it all up.

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Run With No Regrets

Can I just say that the name of the blog summarizes this year best?  Creating this blog has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and it’s truly one of the greatest highlights of my year.  As you can see, I’ve gone through a lot this year!  I am passionate about writing and creating this blog has been a huge outlet for me.  Better yet, I’ve met many other running and fitness bloggers that are full of such positive energy and amazing resources!  I love being a part of this community!

For fun, I’ve filled out Miss Zippy’s  questionnaire about my year of running, though there wasn’t a lot of running for me in 2013!

  • Best Run?:  I would probably say that my first run after physical therapy was the most satisfying.
  • Best New Piece of Gear?:  You know what, I didn’t buy anything new this year!  I’m always open to suggestions, since I really don’t have any good stuff!
  • Best Piece of Running Advice You’ve Received?:  Get out of my head.  All of my running buddies tell me this.  I’m always hard on myself and overthink because I don’t feel that I’m “good enough, fast enough”.
  • Most Inspirational Runner?:  I have had the joy of following a ton of running blogs this year.  My biggest inspiration is probably Beth at Shut Up and Run.  She did the Ironman this year like it was nothing!  I hope to be half as badass as she is when I’m in my 40’s!
  • If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?: Be patient, you will be back and better than ever!

I look forward to many more great memories in 2014.  I’ve already set out  my goals, but in general, I want to continue to grow, take more fitness classes, meet more people, and simply enjoy life!

How would you summarize your year of running and fitness? 

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