Dear readers,

2016 has been a doozy — filled with epic highs (emotionally and in terms of altitude), big life questions, one terribly disappointing election, and many miles in the air and on my feet.  You can check out my goals for 2016 here  and my upcoming goals for 2017 here.  Thanks a million to all of those who supported me and brought joy to my life this year.

To recap, here are a few facts about 2016…

Marathons/States Added:  6/6 (Mississippi Blues Marathon (Mississippi), Asheville Marathon (North Carolina), Vermont City Marathon (Vermont), Mesa Falls Marathon (Idaho), Chicago Marathon (Illinois), and Kiawah Island Marathon (South Carolina))

Half Marathons: 0

Triathlons: 0

Other Races: GW Parkway 10 Miler

Time Change from Last Year’s Best Time: Best marathon time this year was 17 minutes faster than the Freedom’s Run Marathon (3:54)

Time Change from PR:  Set two new PRs: Chicago Marathon (3:42) then, two months later, the Kiawah Island Marathon (3:37), ending up 7 minutes and 46 seconds faster than the existing PR from the 2012 New Orleans Marathon (3:44:47)

Miles Run According to Strava: 1,374 (does not include miles run in Orangetheory)

Fitness Discoveries

• DEXA scans
• UVA SPEED Clinic
• Renaissance Periodization
• CorePower yoga
• Boulder running clubs
• Indoor skiing at Snobahn
• Sleeping without pillows

Staple Workouts

• Running (especially re-finding trails)
• Orangetheory
• Reformer pilates

Gap Fillers

• Horseback riding
• Yoga
• Biking adventures
• November Project
• Lifting (mainly squats and deadlifts)
• Hiking (and backpacking)
• Indoor skiing

On My Feet

• Adidas Ultra Boost (for Mississippi and Asheville)
• Adidas Boston Boost  (for Vermont and Mesa Falls)
• Nike Zoom Pegasus (for Chicago and Kiawah)
• Altra Superior (favorite trail shoe)
• Vivobarefoot Evo Pure (for walking)
• Vibram Trek Ascent Light (for hiking)

Favorite Non-Shoe Running Apparel

• Nike running shorts and capris (same ones I’ve been wearing for years)
• Lululemon leggings
• REI down vest
• Brooks Drift running gloves covered by LSD thermal mittens
• Athlettuce tanks from CustomInk
• Rock Creek Runner hat made by BOCO Gear
• Petzl Tikka headlamp

Oh the Places I’ve Been

• Home sweet DC
• Jackson, Mississippi with my husband for the marathon
• Maui and Kauai, Hawaii for my honeymoon
• Asheville, North Carolina with my mom for the marathon
• Bentonville, Arkasas for work
• New York City for work
• Burlington, Vermont with my husband for the marathon
• Jersey shore with the fam
• Long Island, New York for a wedding
• Nantucket, Massachusetts with friends
• Idaho and Wyoming with my mom
• Breckenridge, Colorado with my husband to climb 14er Quandary Peak
• Charleston, South Carolina for a wedding
• Chicago, Illinois with my husband for the marathon
• Kiawah Island, South Carolina with my husband for the marathon
• Boulder and Denver, Colorado for work

Page Turners (Tappers?)

• Everything I could get my hands on about mountains and adventures… Into Thin Air by John Krakauer (twice in a row), Eiger Dreams by same, Into the Wild by same (cliche? maybe), A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, Buried in the Sky by Peter Zuckerman
• Books about entrepreneurs… Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, The Everything Store by Brad Stone (read half), Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
• Golf books recommended by my husband… The Big Miss by Hank Haney and Slaying the Tiger by Shane Ryan
• Move Your DNA by my guru Katy Bowman
• The first book I’ve ever read about running… How Bad Do You Want It?  (I thought I would review this but never had a chance to do it; check out this review by another blogger)
• Apparently no fiction?

What’s Streaming

• The Olympics
• Outdoor/sports documentaries… Meru (MUST SEE!), Sherpa (ALSO MUST SEE!), Valley Uprising, The Summit, Fittest on Earth, Finding Traction
• Bluegrassy music documentaries… Muscle Shoals and The Winding Stream
• The Trail Running Film Festival
• Shows that gave me nightmares… Man in the High Castle
• Legal thrillers… Goliath, The Crown, The People vs. OJ Simpson, Making a Murderer
• The classics… Top Chef, The Bachelor, The Americans, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Downton Abbey

Apps and Gadgets I’m Using

• iPhone 6 and 2009 (!) MacBook Pro
• iPad mini ❤ ❤ ❤
• Netflix, Amazon, HBO Go, DVR (see above)
• Strava (on my Apple Watch)
• Nest thermostat and camera (to spy on the dog)
• Todoist app
• Instagram
• Overcast…

Which Leads Me To… In My Ears

• Ultrarunning Podcast
• East Coast Trail and Ultrarunner Podcast
• The Runner’s World Show
• The Negative Splits Podcast
• See descriptions and more here

My Food Pyramid

• Yellow triangle: Alinea; Masseria; airport fast food
• Blue level: perennial favorite apples with peanut butter; air-popped popcorn; virgin pina coladas; cottage cheese before bed
• Green level: Sweetgreen; Chipotle; Asian noodle bowls at the work cafeteria, kombucha
• Red level: smoothies (still)

Other Food Finds

• Gingersnap Stinger Waffles
• Huma gels
• Silk Protein Plantmilk
• homemade sourdough bread
• Real Athlete Diets (RAD)
• Oloves

How was your year?  What was your proudest/happiest/strongest moment of 2016? What new discoveries did you make?  What are you wishing for in 2017?