{"id":1753,"date":"2009-12-30T04:29:23","date_gmt":"2009-12-30T09:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/?p=1753"},"modified":"2009-12-31T18:30:02","modified_gmt":"2009-12-31T23:30:02","slug":"best-of-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2009\/best-of-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is the time of year to look back on the previous 12 months and reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly.\u00a0 A lot happens in 12 months.\u00a0 Much of what happens isn’t planned.\u00a0\u00a0 For example, who would plan to have Plantar Fasciitis for 10 months and counting? This time last year I had no idea I’d be typing this post from the comfort of my own house or that I’d be enjoying a two week vacation because I’m still working at a school.<\/p>\n

I did know that I’d have completed my second marathon, though I was hoping to be heading to Boston. I also knew that Team Cross would have some great adventures and fun throughout the year and we did! Each year we make a book and\/or calendar from MyPublisher<\/a> with pictures from the past year.\u00a0 It is a great way to reflect back on some of the great times of the year.<\/p>\n

I’ve written a variety of “Best Of” posts in past years.\u00a0 This is going to be a tamed down version! The two most objective things are race performance (based on time) and most read blog posts (based on page views).<\/p>\n

I think the only race I ran this year without being injured<\/strong> was the Securian Winter Carnival Half Marathon<\/a>, but it was cut in half and really, really cold. \u00a0The most scenic race<\/strong> was the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon<\/a>. I only ran 8 races this year (last year I ran 14). \u00a0My best three races<\/strong> were all in the spring (which isn’t too surprising).<\/p>\n

#3 Human Race 8k<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a> #2 Brian Kraft 5k<\/a><\/p>\n

and…<\/p>\n

#1 \u00a0TC 1 Mile<\/a><\/p>\n

Now for the most read blog posts… \u00a0I use Google Analytics<\/a> for these numbers. \u00a0So far in 2009 I’ve had 12,964 visits and 18,136 pageviews. The best day at Team Cross Runs was on February 3 (during Salmonella outbreak). For my top 5 posts<\/strong> I took out the obvious one of people landing at my home page (1,835 views) and the obscure Merry Christmas 2007 post which still amazes me (1,160 views).<\/p>\n

#5 Running the Minneapolis Riverfront<\/a> – 445 views<\/p>\n

#4 Caffeine: A Banned Substance<\/a> – 488 views<\/p>\n

#3 Treatments for Plantar Fasciitis<\/a> – 719 views<\/p>\n

#2 Stillwater Marathon Has Problems<\/a> – 767 views \u00a0(this actually sat above the Stillwater Marathon site \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 for awhile in Google)<\/p>\n

#1 Salmonella and Powerbars<\/a> – 1,999 views<\/p>\n

My craziest adventure in 2009 was winter camping in February at Afton State Park. \u00a0But probably the craziest run<\/strong> I did in 2009 was when the temperature was -21<\/a> and the windchill was -34.<\/p>\n

* I used the McMillian Calculator<\/a> to pick my best races.<\/p>\n

\"Reblog<\/a>