The Year in Bling: 2023

The year was 2023.

It was a year of fun, and it was a year of challenges.

It also was a fabulous year of self-discovery, milestones conquered, new experiences and plenty of laughter along the way.

What's more? There's plenty of bling to show for it!

While some may think of race medals as unnecessary trinkets that take up valuable real estate in our lives, I disagree. For myself, each piece of bling that makes its way around my neck (and eventually to my medal rack) has a valuable story to tell.

It never seems like there's "too many" races on my calendar until I look back, LOL. While things were a bit stagnant in January and February, things took off nicely once March arrived. The mid/late summer kept me busy on my bike (I'm looking at you, August and September), but the fall racing season kept me busy without burnout. And, we all know December has me run streaking, so racing is not a priority this time of year.  

Anyways, here's a quick peek at the 2023 additions to my bling collection:

Leprechaun Chase 10K (recap), March 11th, Omaha NE. A longtime favorite, this was my third year trekking to Nebraska for this festive lads-chasing-the-lasses event. The swag was top-notch: colorful event shirts, themed socks and a cute branded mini pilsner glass.

Fight for Air Climb (recap), March 26th, Des Moines IA. Yes, another Fight for Air conquest! This was my 10th Climb, and the Iowa venue's 20th year. After a 2-year hiatus from the stairwells (the event relocated to a baseball stadium, due to Covid protocol and safety, in 2021 and 2022), the 2023 Climb had us back in the hot confines of four buildings in downtown Des Moines.

Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-mile (recap), April 3rd, Washington DC. This was my second time hitting the streets of our nation's capitol for 10 miles of cherry blossom beauty and splendor. The morning was chilly and windy, but the sunshine was great and the event was a blast!

Drake Road Races Half Marathon (recap), April 23rd in Des Moines, IA. Another cold and windy race! It's always fun finishing on the famous Blue Oval at Drake Stadium, after conquering all the hills. I even did a major race faux pas and wore the event jacket (hey, it was flannel-lined and coordinated nicely with my tights and headband).

Kewash Trail Half Marathon (recap), April 29th in Washington, IA. This was my first time running this half marathon. I had known about it for several years, but it usually fell on the same weekend as Drake (historically, the day before) and I have too much loyalty to Drake to not run it. I also wasn't too interested in doing both Drake and Kewash on back-to-back days...but doing them on back-to-back weekends? Sure, why not!

Market to Market Relay (recap), May 21st, from Jefferson to Des Moines. One minivan with seven fun-loving gals. Just over 76 total miles to be run. A flamingo theme. And nearly 17 hours of non-stop action, laughter and chatter? Yes, it was a grand day!

DAM to DSM Half Marathon (recap), June 3rd, Des Moines IA. I don't need to elaborate on this event. After all, it was my first long-distance race ever (in 2008) and I've gone back every year. Nuff said.

Sully Freedom Fun Run 5K (recap), July 4th Sully IA. Another fun, small-town event that draws a large crowd. I've been lucky to bring home an AG medal every time I've run it; this was my eighth year, and I brought home a bronze piece of bling. What was significant? This was a rally-back endeavor, following a nasty bike crash two weeks prior, and my lungs and ribs were finally able to handle the pavement pounding.

Grinnell Vets 5K, July 8th, Grinnell IA. This was an inaugural event in my hometown, and I decided the morning of to take part. We gotta support our local events, right? Anyways, it was a very small venue. Although I didn't have much competition for the first place AG, I was very pleased my still-recovering body could pull off a steady pace and sub-27 finish time. 

 

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon (recap), October 15th in Des Moines IA. This was my 10th time running this race. The course had a few changes this year (which I liked!), and we were blessed with a beautiful day, weather-wise. Although I ran a strong race, with a great pace, the race course ran long, LOL. I was on pace (9:05) to finish under two hours, but with 13.29 miles underfoot, my finish time showed 2:00:37. Oh well, I was more than satisfied with my efforts. Glass half full. Onward!

Spooky Sprint 10K (recap), October 21st, Des Moines IA. This was another spontaneous undertaking, and it had me laughing most of the morning. The route was in a familiar place (Grays Lake Park), but was ill-marked and the onsite volunteers were few and far between. There were three different race distances all happening at once (5K, 10K, 13.1), so it was really confusing who was going where. I made a few wrong turns, and tried back-tracking to correct my distance, but still wound up slightly short of the desired 10K. Oh well (again), LOL. I did bring home my first-ever creepy hand-shaped medal, so there's that!

Living History Farms 5-mile (recap), November 11th, Urbandale, IA. This cross-country race had long been on my bucket list, but I never could summon the courage to register. I'd heard many interesting stories about the terrain, the hills, the numerous creek crossings, the plentiful mud, and the insane weather that usually plagued race day. Nonetheless, I bit the bullet and took a chance on the event...and it wasn't so scary after all! Granted, I did take a nasty tumble (and still have the bruises to show for it), but it was a fun adventure on a cool (but very sunny) morning. And, how about that cowbell for bling!  

So, that's the showcase of my 2023 bling. It wound up being a pretty fun year, with some new-to-me events, decent finish times, and a sprinkling of AG awards. And, plenty of memories to keep me smiling.

How did 2023 play out for you, in terms of fitness events and/or races? Any fun swag or interesting bling added to your display? Great memories? Valuable lessons learned? 

I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up

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