2015 - Photos Year in Review!

2015 has been so fantastic in that I got to meet so many of YOU In Real Life.  Bear with me because some of these months are umm..heavier...than others!  It was hard to choose just one picture for each month so some months get more!

January

January started with a trail run on New Year's Day with my fellow mamas in Moms Run This Town.  If you are a mom and in the least bit interested in running/walking, JOIN your local chapter!

February

I was part of something magical.  The start of We Run Social at the Phoenix Marathon.

Oh and I kind of sort of ran my first freaking marathon.  That is 26.2 smiles and I think they might have all been on Brown Road!  (Those of you who have run the PHX Marathon, know what I am talking about!)

And I met Erica IRL for the second time and SUZ for the first time ever!

March

March was the start of the big fundraiser for the Epilepsy Foundation and Team Serena's Crusaders!  Love my family!

It was also the Carlsbad 5000 and our awesome matching Spandits Lego skirts!  And Carlee, Leslie and Jamye!

April

April brought the Epilepsy Foundation 5K and $11,000+ raised for the Foundation thru Team Serena's Crusaders!

May

May brought so much pride in my girl Jenn for finishing, no, rocking her first 50 MILER ever!  Pictured: Jamye, Jenn, Kat and me.

May brought the first time I met my forever friend Sarah in person.  Love this lady!

May also saw Tara finish her first Half Marathon and me meeting my other forever friend Barbara in real life at the Rock n Roll San Diego Half Marathon!

June

June brought my first real volunteer experience withTeam Running Skirts at the SD 100.  100 miles folks!  Nothing more inspirational than this!

Speaking of inspirational, June brought the first of two times I would "run" into Meb in Mission Bay. Go Meb indeed!

July

July brought Jamye's first ever 50K.  It was self supported and she named it "Freedom 50K."  So proud of her and so glad Jenn and I could be there for her.  And wear matching socks of course!

August

August brought a trip to MN and my sweet hubby riding alongside me as I explored new to me trails!

It also brought me some in real life girl time with two of my favorite Minnesotans: Stephanie and Mara!

September

I think this one is my favorite picture from 2015.  There is so much joy in this picture, for running and for life, and I think Tara captured it perfectly!

This is yet another picture of Jamye, Jenn and me but this time, we are on the trails and anytime I hit the trails with these two is a good day!

And yet another Meb sighting!  Vanessa and Alexis got to join the fun this time too!

October

October brought completion to my running tribe.  These three women have made it possible for me to run over 1200 miles this year.  Thank you Vanessa, Jenn and Jamye!

SD Dad also had a 2nd place finish at the Epilepsy Ride!  We are so proud of him!

And another awesome Rock n Roll event - this time LA!  The We Run Social crew REPRESENTED!  Sarah and I were Rock n Roomies!  (David, Brian, Sarah, Michael, Andrea)

November 

November brought my second Marathon medal and a 10 min PR at Revel Canyon City!

It also brought another super fun We Run Social meet up, this time on matching socks and color coordinated outfits!  (David, Carlee, Kristin, Brian)  This time at the Silver Strand Half Marathon!

December

December brought my very first Trail race.  It was super fun but SLOW!  The Del Dios Half Marathon!

I also ran the San Diego Holiday Half the second year in a row!  Such a blast and a special thanks to Jenny for all the pictures!

But the year starts and ends with these two!  Always!  Love my #SDKidz!

So tell me, would you have been able to narrow down the list to just one picture per month?  I have to say, I had about 20 options for each month.  That just means that 2015 has been a kick butt year!

And as always, please link up YOUR Best of / Year in Review post with me and Dani!  We love reading them!

Happy New Year friends!  See you in 2016!

As always,
I wish you Happy Feet,
SD Mom

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday #Giveaway Roundup - #WinAllThePrizes

This is it friends!  The FINAL Giveaway Roundup of 2015!  I have had 60 giveaways in 2015!  I am hoping to have even more in 2016!  I am super excited about 2016 with Erica!  We are unveiling a whole new logo for 2016!  So make sure to get it downloaded and ready for next year so you can link up!

Tada!  I love the western Roundup theme!  So much fun!  I am truly thankful for what an amazing partner Erica has been with hosting these every week with me this year!

But a couple reminders for 2016...we WILL be enforcing these rules!

1.  If you link up, your link MUST contain an end date.
2.  It is polite to link to your hosts in some way.

For a refresher on all the rules, see here.

And now for a quick sneak peek at the Giveaway for next week (I don't have one this week!), check this out!  I am in love!

"First Grab Coffee and then the World!"  My motto for 2016!

Now, on to the GIVEAWAY Roundup part of this post!  As always, Erica and I together bring you all the great giveaways from around the inter webs!

I love having all of you link up every single week!  Please link up your giveaways with us and enter them all!  They are so much fun!

Tell me about new things that you are loving this week!  What will be your motto for 2016?

Can't wait to see what giveaways you guys link up this week!  Good luck!

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,

SD Mom 

An InLinkz Link-up

2015 - Blogging Year in Review!

So yesterday, I brought you my Running Year in Review!  This time, check out my Blogging Year in Review.  And always, don't forget to link up with me and Dani!  You can add your Year in Review link to the link up at the end of the post!

60 Giveaways

Wowee!  Thanks to very generous sponsors, I have had some fun giveaways this year!  Some of my favorites are pictured below!

17 Ambassadorships

I have to name them all and thank them all for a fantastic year full of support, encouragement and amazing products!  Spandits, Medi-Dyne, FitFluential, FitApproach, Revel Marathon Series, Rock n Roll Series, Orange Mud, Superfeet, Skratch, Pony Express Marathon, Showerpill, prAna, Movin Shoes, Headsweats, Pluggz Footwear, Gone for a Run and Nuttzo!

I have also enjoyed very special partnerships with Vega, ProCompression, Athleta UTC, Bzees and Hoka One One.

My Most Read Overall Post

By far, and I was pretty surprised, my most popular post was the OOFOS Review & Giveaway.  It had almost 1000 more views than the nearest competitor.  They are amazing shoes and I am happy to see everyone else thought so too!

My Most Read Non-Giveaway Post

This one was surprising too!  My most popular post was on Why I LOVE Newport Beach!  Maybe my nostalgia for my college days shined through the post?  I know I certainly love Balboa Bars!

My favorite Post

Every once in a while, I go beyond product reviews and giveaways to give you a heartfelt post on my state of things.  And my response to the Zelle article that said No to Marathons was my favorite post ever.  I called the article "Yes Marathon for Me!  5 Reasons I am Opting In!"

My Favorite Linkup

It has to be the Wednesday Giveaway Roundup of course!  I am so thankful that Erica agreed to co-host with me this year and can't wait to see what the New Year brings.  Rumor has it there will be a new logo!

What is next in 2016?

I am definitely holding on to my little corner of the inter webs.  But I am not sure how much.  I will always be around for the Wednesday Giveaway Roundup and always over on Instagram rocking the cute Spandits skirts and the ProCompression socks but beyond that, I will have to see what the year will bring!

I do know that I have met some AMAZING people thanks to being a run blogger and I intend to enrich my garden of friends!  Love these people!

So there you have it.  My Blog year in Review.  Have you ever read my blog before?  What do you like about it  What would you change?  Be honest but not mean!  Can't wait to see what 2016 brings!

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,

SD Mom

An InLinkz Link-up

2015 - Running Year In Review!

Hi Friends,
I want to bring you my 2015 Running Year in Review.  It has been an amazing year.  And don't forget to link up with me and Dani!  You can add your Year in Review link to the link up at the end of the post!

So let's get right to it!

2 Marathons

This year, I completed 2 marathons.  Holy cow!  That is 2 sets of 26.2 miles ALL AT THE SAME TIME!  Phoenix Marathon was fun.  I met all the friends and I got to be a part of the creation / beginning of the We Run Social movement.

And let's not forget the super awesome always fantastic Revel Canyon City!  PR by 10 minutes!  Join me next year on November 12, 2016!

1 Amazing Coach

I decided that I needed a coach this year to keep me healthy and most of all, to keep me sane.  Jenn from Sole Health and Wellness has given me all that and more.

I cannot recommend her enough.  If you are in San Diego or far away, call her and set up something with her.  She rocks!

5 Half Marathons

In 2015, I have done the Mermaid Half Marathon (February), Rock n Roll San Diego Half Marathon (June), Rock n Roll LA Half Marathon (October) and the Del Dios Trail Half Marathon (December).

I have to be honest and say the most fun was the trail half!  Those twists and turns are fun!  Slow but fun!  I also did the San Diego Holiday Half Marathon yesterday (12/27).  Awesome course if you are looking for a PR!

4 Virtual Runs

Thru my partnership with Gone For a Run, I got to do some really fun Virtual Races this year.  Virtual races are not tied to a location but they send a bib, a medal and a shirt!  Good swag without any travel pressure with a traditional race.  Clockwise starting at top left: Faster than Boo, Sole Sister, Run Now Beer Later and Road Shark!

Trail Running

Thank to my favorite "goat" Jenn, I discovered the trails more than ever.  All over San Diego and the Pacific Crest Trail thanks to her badassery in her 50 miler!  Trails are so much fun but so mental.  Have to pay attention to foot falls and twists and turns.  But so beautiful and so freeing!  And when you run them with the best girls you know, then they are magic!  And much easier on your body in terms of impact.

I even volunteered at the SD100 race with Team Running Skirts this year.  

What is next for me with running?

This is a tough one.  I am signed up to do the LA Marathon in February.  I am not sure it will be a PR race or even a run for time race.  My high school best friend is running the race too so I may want to use 26 miles to catch up with her.  But Jenn is running too and maybe she will lead me to a PR like she did wth me at Canyon City Half last year.  

To be honest, I am a little burned out of running.  I think I need a break.  I want it to be a joy again.  I want to feel free and light when I run and not bogged down with training miles.  So, I think 2016 will be the year of the Half marathon.  Where training runs could be 3 miles and not always 7.  I also want it to be the year of yoga and strength training.  I want to be a girl who lifts!

So tell me about your year!  What was the best thing about 2015?  What are you looking forward to in 2016?

As always, I wish you Happy Feet,

SD Mom

An InLinkz Link-up

Merry Christmas and a #GlutenFree Holiday Cake Balls #Recipe!

Merry Merry Christmas Dear Friends!  I hope that today brings you all you need, especially those who love you!  I know I am loving these days off with my family.

But, CAKE BALLS!  I want to make you gluten free cake balls for Christmas!

They are super easy and I have tips for you along the way.  These are NOT healthy by any means but they are gluten free.

Gather up your ingredients.  You will need one box of gluten free cake mix.  I found this one at my local grocery store in the baking aisle.

Then grab a can of frosting.  Plain old vanilla is what I chose.

Now bake the cake according to directions.

Let it cool and them crumble it up.

Mix it with the frosting and get it nice and smooth.

Use a mini ice cream scoop to roll out even sized balls.  (Come on!  Are you in 5th grade?!)

This is important.  Let these guys hang out in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.  You want them to get firm.  (See?  So immature!)  Now grab some chocolate bark (specifically designed for ball dipping).

Melt it according to directions but add about 1/2 tsp of coconut oil to each batch.

Use two forks to gently lower each ball into the chocolate bath.  

Remove and place in a mini cupcake wrapper and sprinkle with desired toppings.

I found these super cute cupcake wrappers with candy canes on them!

And there you have it.  Gluten Free Holiday Cake Balls!  They will be perfect for any holiday and taste DIVINE!  So moist (yes, I said moist!) and decadent!

P.S. Today is the last day to win a pair of Superfeet insoles for yourself and a friend.  Enter to win here!

As always, I wish you Happy Feet and Merry Christmas,

SD Mom