2011 a Year in Review

Wow what a year 2011 was! It is always so much fun to go back and relive some of it by putting together a "best of" post. (See the Best of 2010 here) If I'm honest with myself and you guys I really can't quite believe some of the things I did this year. Things I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I would do let alone enjoy! So let's get to the list!

Favorite Race:
This is hard. I didn't have one real stand out race this year and my choice is probably going to seem kind of strange, but I'm going with Boulder Peak. Now as you may know from reading the race report I didn't love Old Stage and in fact had to walk that "hill" during this race, but overall it was a great day. Above all I really enjoyed being able to share the whole Boulder series (as well as much training) with a great group of people!

Paul, Kathleen, Sarah, Me and Lisa

Favorite Training Run:
I've got two, as you may notice I have a hard time narrowing these things down to just one. The first is a run I did that really was not that great but I felt like I turned my thinking around and made it into a good day. I wrote about it in a post entitled Big Girls Don't Cry . And next is a run that Kathleen and I did out at Chatfield while training for our spring 1/2 marathon. The weather turned crazy and it was quite an experience! It's not that it was "fun" exactly, just a memory that stands out in my mind.

Favorite Training Ride:
Lookout Mountain with Jill Well what can I say. If you haven't yet met Jill you really need to. She is so much fun and we had a blast making our maiden trip up Lookout and going just a tiny bit astray.

Favorite Picture:

From the post titled "Everyday is a new beginning"

And these two from our trip to Buena Vista

Favorite Accomplishment:
Well this one is a tie. Obviously completing my first 70.3 in Boulder was huge! But along with that I would have to say that the Rugged Maniac was just about as big. A totally different experience, but one that pushed me to my limits and made me step out of my comfort zone more so then Bolder.

Favorite Recipe:

I've enjoyed all of these recipes. However I'm going to pick two of my favorites based on the ones that I made most and it would have to be the Buckwheat Bake. It is an awesome breakfast when I'm looking for something different a little sweet and very easy to make.
I'm also going to list the Stuffed Poblano Peppers. I make these often, I would say close to at least once a month. They are however never the same. I use whatever I happen to have on hand. Usually left overs and they have never ever let me down!

So there are just a few of the highlights from my year. It truly was a great one and I believe that much of that is due to stepping out of my comfort zone, meeting new people and trying new things has led to some wonderful experiences.