When I was considering incorporating interviews into my blog, there was no one else I could think of more fitting for the "first" interview than Liza.   Liza is a dear friend and fellow Boston-area runner.   

When I started running, she took me under her wing and taught me everything she knew about running. I affectionately call her "Lightning" because of the many miles I spent trailing her through the streets of Boston unable to keep up. We have spent countless hours training and scheming about races together.  I am truly blessed to have such a running friend.

I was in the market for a GPS watch this summer...something easy to use that would allow me to track my mileage and speed.  Nothing fancy. 

Naturally Garmin came to mind when I first started my search.  Garmin has such a solid reputation for GPS tracking and there are a TON of different styles and versions available depending on your needs.  After lots of internet searching/review reading and consulting runner friends, I bought the Garmin Forerunner15.

Read on for a short review.  

Happy New Year, friends!

In looking back over this year, there is so much I am thankful for, including you!  Thank you for reading (and following) this blog over the year.  It has been fun to share my running stories with you and hear some of yours.

I labeled 2015 a comeback year because that is exactly what it was.  Recovered from my 2013/2014 ailments: a stress reaction in my second metatarsal of the right foot and posterior tibial tendonitis in my right leg, I started the year off feeling better and ready to get at it!  In some ways this year was like learning to run all over again.  By God's grace, I had some learning moments and big victories.

To end the year, I thought I'd publish a blog post is unlike any I've done before.  Most of you probably found me and my blog from Twitter (@theRunnersRun).  I've found that tweets have become somewhat of an uber public running diary of sorts for me.  So, what better way to sum up my running year than with a monthly play-by-play told through some of my most memorable tweets.  So read on!  See how my year went "in Tweets".  Also let me know how your year went!  Feel free to leave a comment down below.

I hope to have much more to share with you in 2016!  Happy Running!


2015 in Tweets

~~ January ~~
 

2015 opened with more of a whoop than a bang. I was starting to feel better after rehab [then time off from rehab].  My running consisted of short outings of a minute on/a minute off.  I was optimistic and excited but Snowmaggeddon quickly stifled that.  I learned a lot about patience in January.  The "rest" days added up which was exactly what I needed.  Maybe God pulling on the reins? I logged a whopping 6 miles in January and that's okay! It was a perfect comeback month.

 

~~ February ~~

Running more and thankful for it.  However, I was simultaneously thankful not to be running so much more that I had to go far in the snow.  Running in February was mostly staying close to home trying not to wipe out on the ice and snow. It was surprisingly kinda fun.  

~~ March ~~

I don't really remember March :) It must have been cold and long.  Yep...I think that's it. Cold and long. I turned 31 in March.  That was weird but I had good friends to celebrate with...including the one pictured below. Oh and I can do a bridge again!

~~ April ~~ 

Boston Marathon!  Need I say more? 
April was all hype surrounding the big race.  My friend Liza and I went down again to watch in the cold and rain.  We cheered hard for some of our favorites and high fived strangers. I am truly blessed by the spirit of that race.
 

~~ May ~~ 

This year's whim was my entry into the Cape Cod Ragnar Relay.  Liza was on a team that needed more people. It took some mild convincing but in the end... I figured why not? Completing my legs really boosted my confidence. The increased mileage in May helped me believe a fall marathon was possible.

 

~~ June ~~ 

I used a lot of emojis in June.  Guess I was feeling happy :)  It was a month of figuring out the track and fine tuning my training.  The end of June was my deadline to decide whether or not I would run a marathon this year.

 

~~ July ~~ 

July, you kept me on my toes.  I remember being really busy in July but I did get to enjoy some non-running adventures like a nice/semi intense hike (I was sore for 3 days after) in Vermont with @run_boston.  It took a while for me to develop a running rhythm in July. I ended up skipping a lot of training days but somehow got back on track in Aug.

~~ August ~~ 

Now August was more like it! I got more serious about the marathon prep and ramped up pretty quickly.  It seemed I was celebrating every weekend how far I've come.

~~ September ~~ 

Now I lost a little bit of steam going into September.  I don't know if it was a lack of motivation or just me coming to terms with the intensity of marathon training or what.  With the marathon only one month away, I was feeling extremely out of shape and unprepared.  I considered dropping down in distance of my race from the full to the half.  In the end, I figured sticking it out and running the full would be good training for future marathons.

~~ October ~~ 

I didn't do much running in October other than the marathon.  I think I was tired and having a hard time self-motivating.  Running is so mental some times!  I am really thankful for the year's journey and a Baystate marathon completion.  It felt really good to cross that finish line!  But...if I had to do it over again, I would probably run more than just five times in the weeks leading up to my race. ;)  

Just sayin'...

 

~~ November ~~ 

November was a month of rest and running whenever I felt like it.  I enjoyed the freedom of not having weekend mileage to complete or a race looming in the future.  Even with all of that "free running" , I managed 61 miles that month!  I'll take it.  Also in Nov, I decided to try out morning running.  Some weeks are better than others but I can see a difference in how I feel morning vs evening.

~~ December ~~ 

"All the miles are a gift"  

I tweeted this after feeling overwhelming gratefulness for a two mile jaunt around my neighborhood.  This year has been so exciting as I've been progressing with running and simultaneously learning how to chill about things.  Not every run needs to be analyzed, not every workout obsessed about.  I am working on gladness and being thankful for everything.  I came into this year with no expectations and am leaving with 700 miles, another marathon and countless stories of God's grace in this journey.  Good times.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  - James 1:17       

What about you?

How did your year go?

Have you started planning for your 2016 adventures?