The Best and Worst of 2011

“But we’ve wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne.”

It’s the time of year that we like to reflect on the year that was. And, it’s been a good one for these Angels. Collectively, we’ve run two full marathons, five half marathons, and a slew of smaller races all over the country. We’ve also survived two newborn babies, a move to a new house, a second-story renovation, and yet another pregnancy. Oh, and we launched this lovely little blog. All in all, it’s been a prosperous 2011.

Here, we present to you some bests and worsts from the year that was.

Best Race Sign: “Run Human Run” — held up by a guy in a gorilla costume at the Flying Pig Marathon. (For some reason, the photo disappeared from our blog and we can’t find it on the interwebs. Blast!)

Worst Spectator: The kid who yelled “You’re cheating!” at Adrea while she was walking up one of the killer hills during the Bix 7. Not cool, son.

Best Race Weather: Hudy 14k. It was a beautifully crisp Cincinnati fall morning, with a high around 60 degrees. In fact, this jaunt through some of Cincinnati’s less-traveled (read: historic and beautiful, but slightly scary and ghetto-ish) neighborhoods was both enjoyable and challenging. We’ll be back next year.

Worst Race Weather: Chicago Spring Half Marathon. Spring is a deceiving word here. Mid-May never looked so awful. It’s a wonder how I avoided getting swept into Lake Michigan, let alone how I managed a PR. Brutal.

Worst Pre-Run Food Choice: Zip’s Chili Cheese Fries. This was a deliciously bad decision. Don’t let this happen to you. Also, is it wrong that looking at this image makes me hungry for chili cheese fries? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?

Best New Gear: iPhone 4. I’ll be honest, my No. 1 reason for upgrading my iPhone was because I was going insane with Nike+ on my old phone. I have a constant need to track and share my mileage. And, the improvements are all that I’d dreamed they would be and more. Not only is the GPS more accurate, but the battery life is about a half marathon longer. Thanks, Apple.

Worst New Gear: Case-Mate Decathlon Sports Armband Case. A total waste of $25. (I trashed it in the Amazon reviews if you want to read more.) I’m rocking the Armpocket now, thanks to a wise shopper who used our Bad Angel Holiday Gift Giving Guide.

Best Horns: Amie’s Boston Marathon horns. No contest here. I mean, come on, it’s Boston.

Best Race Schwag: Cross Country Challenge 8K. Fun stocking cap, long-sleeve tech shirt, a raffle and a massive post-race feast. Quite the bargain.

Best Running Song: “Power” by Kanye West. OK, fine, technically this song came out in 2010, but it didn’t become part of our running playlist repertoire until this year. It’s hard to count the number of times this song gave us the extra oomph we needed during a crucial part of a run. And you know what? We’re still not sick of it.

— Aidz, Mags and Amie