Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

This year I ran 9 races (well 10 if you count the Illinois Marathon Relay) and earned 8 medals. This year my main focus was the Chicago Marathon so I had to limit the number of races.

Note:  Missing in the picture above is the one from the Chicago Half Marathon.  I took it to school to show it to my students and left it there.  

All of my medals hold a special place in my heart.  I worked hard and earned them.  Whether it was the course, weather or something else going on, I pushed on through to cross the finish line.

To recap:

Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle-My first race in 2015.  It was cold and windy!  Love that this medal is also a bottle opener.

Live Grit Lakefront 10 Miler-Another cold and windy day!  It started off really nice but then the temperate dropped significantly throughout the race.  I was the only one that did not have a jacket in my bag because, well, it was very nice in the morning.

Illinois Marathon Relay–I did this race mainly to cross it off my list and ended up having a great time with my friends.  It rained and rained and was even cancelled due to the weather.  But, we still managed to finish it.

Quarryman Challenge 10 Mile-Hills, hills, and more hills.  It was challenging all right.  Oh, how much I dislike this race.  Maybe I’ll do it again when I am in better shape and can tackle the hills. I remember it was humid and muggy in the morning.  Oh, no medal.  But there was pizza and beer….LOTS OF IT.

Fleet Feet Sports Soldier Field 10 Mile-Finally a PR for me!  With a flat course and decent weather, everyone enjoys the race.

Covered Bridges Half Marathon-A fun trip with Jaime!  Oh, how I miss traveling and running with her.  She has already finished running in the 50 states.  It was a beautiful course with one gigantic hill around mile 8.  Still I ended up with my second best half marathon finish time. 

Elmhurst 4 on the 4th-One of my favorite races and plan to do this every year as long as I am in town.  It is a small race and cheap ($25), plenty of parking, semi-challenging, and not too far from my house.  The first mile was my fastest but paid for it later in the race.  Still, GREAT RACE.

Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon-Another HOT race!  My goal was to finish under 2:30 but that did not happen and honestly I was OK with it.  I met up with Kim, Elizabeth, and Sonya in MA, ate in NH, and slept in ME.  Three states in a couple of hours!!  There is so much to do in Portland and we made the best of it and had fun.  

Chicago Half Marathon-Love this race because of the medal!  I ran this race without listening to music.  Yep, 13.1 miles with no music.  Great course!  Plus I made it on the news.  This race works out perfect for those training for the Chicago Marathon.

Chicago Marathon-My last race of the year and my 7th marathon.  Done and done.  So many mixed feelings with this race.  I was happy, relieved, and in pain.  I chafed really bad and that hurt even more to walk than from running 26.2 miles.  I remember thinking that I would never run a marathon again.  Well, that did not last long because I applied again for next year and am waiting to hear back for CARA.

Favorite Medal: The one shown above from the Chicago Half Marathon.  Almost as big as my face and I think similar to the one from the Little Rock Marathon.  Also, I enjoyed the course and we had great weather till the end when it started to run.

So here are my medals for this year.  What’s your favorite bling from 2015?