Thanks CEPCANADA!

This past February I was named to TEAM CEPCANADA 2013!

As a weekend warrior athlete I was honoured to be named to the team with some really amazing elites! I am not fleet of foot, but I am a super fan of CEP compression! And even us slow kids need some compression love too!

And after picking some new CEP socks and sleeves, I was stoked to be running a few races with my CEPs!

I Wore them while travelling to and from Bozeman for my first half mara in March! Rocked out the Run for L'Arche 5Miler, Calgary Police Half, Rocky Mountain Soap Race Weekend (a half mara and a 10km), Calgary Marathon ... to mention a few!

On most of my long training runs I also wore them. I definitely wore them AFTER Edmonton Marathon (I did the half) Loop Around the Lake, Harvest Half and Last Chance Half.

Between March 17 until November 10, I ran 9 half marathon races and 3 half marathon virtual races. That's a lotta miles! On one of those races, I tacked on a 10km race the next day. Sounds crazy! It was. It was also a test to get me on the track to push my endurance. If it hurts keep going....push those legs...keep moving forward! WHY? I wanted to train harder in order to get ready for a couple trail challenges. One of which never happened due to our Floods.

In July, I ran a 32.5km trail run. eek! August brought more miles again. But after each and every one of my half marys, my legs felt pretty damn good. Sometimes those runs were hard , but i felt that my recovery was quick. And, yes, some of that comes with training ... But I credit my happy legs to my CEP Compression Socks.

I do love running in them, but I actually think I love em even more AFTER the run. I honestly think they make a a HUGE difference in recovery! After I ran Leg 1&2 of Sinister 7, I changed out of one pair of sleeves, and wore another pair for the rest of the day. I even slept with em on. Woke up to legs that were feeling pretty good. In spite of one heck of a gruelling workout!

I had a bit of a hard year this year. Got some solid running in, to be sure...two days from 2014 and I have hit 1000 miles. AWESOME. But I have battled back from a nasty shingles bout. Once that pretty much zapped all energy and ability to run faster, train smarter an sidelined my plans for a PB. But this is truly the year I learned PERSEVERANCE. And, that it, and friendships and encouragement on a run means WAY more than any PB. I didn't have a single running injury. I gained a lotta smarts along the way. AND HAD FUN! And, I like to think the pics in this post (and many on my blog) show that I did it lookin' pretty good.

I have been upset that I didn't have a year of improvement. But I have had a year of immense learning. I kept moving forward! And, in 2014, the year of the MARATHON for me (6 months til the Calgary Mara!!!), I will use those learning to train better and relax more. And keep on running with my CEPs!

I think if I were to choose ONE photo that epitomises this year, running, me, and how I feel after a run...this is it!

You can't see my FAB CEPs...but they are ON!

Thank You CEPCanada!

How do you #RockYourCEPs?