As is tradition on New Year’s Eve, let’s take a look back at 2013 and all the goodness – and endorphins! – it had to offer. By the numbers:
First, the fun part: races!
Marathons: 1
Half Marathons: 10
Fun runs (untimed events): 1
Relays: 2
10Ks: 2
Odd distances: 4 (8K, 15K, 10M and 18M)
Triathlons: 5 (three sprint; two Olympic distances)
Virtual: 2 (one half marathon; one 10K)
Total races: 27
Favorites:
Most beautiful course, triathlon: The Santa Cruz Triathlon
Most beautiful course, run: the Big Sur Marathon
Best performance:
Does an age group win at the Slug Run 10K count? Probably not, since there were only two of us. So let’s nominate the Sirena10, the 10-mile distance at the Mermaid Run San Francisco, where I placed in the top 50 out of 1,000 runners. It was a most beautiful day, too!
Most fun:
It’s pretty much impossible to single out a race as most fun, but if I had to list my top 3, they’d probably be (in chronological order):
– the 408K Race to the Row in March. Fabulous shopping post-race and a photo op with Ryan Gosling, thanks for stopping by!
– the Reservoir Triathlon in June. It was my second triathlon, so the first-timer jitters were gone; but a large group of training buddies was there for support and a super-fun post-race feast. My favorite race T-shirt, too:
– Rock’n’Roll San Jose Half Marathon in October. Running with friends + a slower pace than usual = fantastic fun time!
ALL of the bling!
Favorite: I’d have to go with the Santa Cruz Tri medal: smaller, classic look. Just like the race itself. 
(Check out the rest of my 2013 bling here.)
Sparkliest: From the Giant Race. Just look at this thing:
Best Finish Line: Giant Race wins again:
Celebrity race encounter: Sean Astin at the finish line of the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. We compared times. I beat him by about four minutes, but he’d run the 10K the previous day. We’ll let that one slide, Sam Gamgee. 
Favorite blog post: Ryan Gosling’s 10 Rules for a Happy Mother Runner’s Day. 
OK, now let’s move on to the real fun stuff: the numbers.
Running
Miles: 960
I realized earlier this month that I’d come very close to 1,000 miles for the year, again, and I seriously considered pushing it a little over the last two and half weeks to get there. Some of you encouraged me to do so on Facebook (ah, the perpetual social enabler), and trust me: it was very, very tempting. But in line with my “non-resolution” for 2014 — train smarter, get to the start line happy and healthy — I decided to stick to my Ironman 70.3 plan and avoid overtraining or, worse, injury. So there you have it. Not quite 1,000, but hey: like a friend wisely advised me, at least I didn’t end it on a pesky decimal point.
Time: 150:05
Calories burned: 103,302
Biking
Miles: 1187.5
Ah. Could’ve gone another half a mile on my short ride today, but that’s OK. Did you know that if I’d started biking in San Jose and kept going, this mileage would’ve taken me about 80 miles past Vancouver?
Time: 87:56
Calories burned: 42,275
Swimming
Miles: 83.3
Like swimming across the English Channel four times. Yup, pretty sure it’s the same.
Total time: 59:48
Calories burned: 27,983
Cardio totals:
2,233.2 miles – 298:35 hours – 173,773 calories
Much as I love round numbers, I can’t help but find beauty in that last one. Seven is a lucky one, and so is three. And 173,773 calories? That’s exactly 1909 and a half glasses of champagne. Or white wine. However you like it best!
Cheers, and here’s to a prosperous 2014!
This is awesome! I was thinking of doing something similar to this, but I’ve been short on time and haven’t had a chance to compile the numbers. I love looking back and reviewing the numbers and facts from the year. Happy 2014!
Happy New Year to you, too! I use RunKeeper, so all the numbers are there – no need for much “crunching” 🙂 Which reminds me… RunKeeper doesn’t track treadmill miles, I wonder if those have added up to 40 or more. Probably should keep track of those next year!