What a Year!

As 2011 quickly approaches, I wanted to take a moment to recap on my most memorable 2010 happenings. Whether I laughed or cried, or both, 2010 proved to be one of the best years to date.

• I ran four marathons, starting out the year in Houston with a PR of 3:15 and finishing at the year with another PR of 3:10 in Las Vegas.
  
  
• I trained for and completed an Ironman! Finished Ironman C'ouer D'Alene in 12:35:49.
  
  
• Signed up for my second Ironman.
  
  
• Finally broke 20 minutes in the 5k with a PR of 19:41!
  
  
• Won several (small) road races.
  
  
• Placed in my age group and top 20 women in some big races including San Antonio & Vegas Marathons, Dallas Turkey Trot and the Decker Half-Marathon.
  
  
• Competed in 2 half-Ironmans.
  
  
• Was named the Employee of the Year for the City of Georgetown (Community Services Division)
  
  
• Completely revamped the Cupid's Chase 5K in my first year in charge, more than doubling participation from the previous year.
  
  
• Threw an awesome birthday party for my basset baby, Flash.
  
  
• Finally figured out how to use the gears on my bike correctly.
  
  
• Completed my first Century (100 mile) bike ride in April.
  
  
• Got used to waking up at 4:45 am every day, sometimes even earlier (3:00 am back in May to get in my long run before an early work event).
  
  
• Convinced Dan to sign up for his first marathon, and his second Olympic Distance Triathlon.
  
  
• Made some great new friends and training partners.
  
  
• Trained with the Southwestern Univ. Men's Cross Country team in the Fall who pushed/inspired me to become a better runner.
  

And of course I have to give a huge shout out to those who helped make 2010 amazing …

1) Dan - for putting up with me, especially during Ironman training.

2) Jo and Mike (the 'rents) – who put up with my 1 minute phone calls in between work/workouts – and who are constantly worried about me when I’m out on my bike rides and runs, no matter how long or short they are.

3) The rest of 'Team Erin' - friends and family - who supported me during my Ironman.

4) My run group & tri-training friends – who slowed down when I was slow, who sped up when I was fast, and whose company made those long bike rides made them seem so much shorter.

5) My Daily Mile & blogging friends – some whom I have met and some that I have not, but correspond with via comments or emails. Thank you for reading and commenting/supporting my IM journey.

6) Finally, Coach Shawn– who never stopped believing in me and whose positive energy flowed almost every day despite when I was not in the mood for my workouts. I cannot thank him enough for my accomplishments this year.

If 2010 was that great of a year, I can’t wait to see what 2011 has in store! Stay Tuned :)