It has been quite a year. Running was put on the back burner, not intentionally, but that's what happens when life happens. I feel like this is the year we played catch-up on travel. We shoved in two epic family trips and I squeezed in a third trip near the end of the year. So as a result, no big ultra(s). I feel pretty ok with it though, given that I definitely progressed with climbing, finally breaking into 5.11 territory, and I also started a new job at an exciting clandestine start-up that I will be able to announce more publicly at the end of January.
The highlight of the year was definitely the family trip to Japan. I love that it was the kids' idea and not mine. If not for them insisting on going to Japan, we might have gone to Hawaii or the Italian Alps instead. I was proud of myself for continuing to run while in Japan despite the very humid and hot temps. It was also a great way to see the cities where we stayed on foot. Coming back and learning how to make onigiri and Japanese curry was also a lot of fun.
The trip out west to Nevada and Arizona was also amazing. I loved that we were able to combine outdoor adventures with good food and entertainment. I didn't focus on running too much on that trip, but we did a lot of family hiking, including trails in the Grand Canyon, around Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon. It was also of course great to introduce Dylan to the spectacular climbing in Red Rock Canyon.
Another highlight of the year has to be the trip that I did to Kalymnos, Greece with my friend Audrey. It was the first time I climbed several days within in the same vacation. I learned a lot from our guide, Simon Montmory and I think I'm still improving with the skills and exercises he taught us. I'm psychedd that my shoulder feels like it completely healed up after a few months of annoying low level chronic pain I was having over the summer and early fall.
Gym-climbing has been plentiful this year. It's been a great way for us to bond with our oldest son as he entered his first year of college- a great excuse to see him regularly since the gym is only 10 minutes from where he goes to school. I love that we have such a busy, vibrant climbing gym and route-setters who regularly set fun, interesting routes for us to solve.
My only *just squeaking it in* ultra was at 3 Days at the Fair. I just made it over marathon distance, so it officially counts, but I wish that I could've at least hit the 50K mark.
Another fun, unexpected highlight of the year was some impromptu coaching that I did with 6th grade girls. I was asked to help out at some pre-season cross country workouts and then as the season wound down, one of the Moms asked about winter running opportunities and I offered to start a running club. I'm hoping to continue this after the winter break.
Finally, getting a pair of kittens was a huge highlight of 2023. Hopefully, it doesn't mean less miles for 2024 because all I want to do is sit and snuggle with them.
In the end, based on my Strava stats, I ran a total of 1,068 miles with 107,138 ft of elevation gain and was active for 341 days.
I'm currently in a bit of a running slump so I'm hoping that setting a goal will help me start to get my mileage up. Given my new job, it's hard to make any solid plans for destination ultras or climbing trips, but I would love to make plans to run, hike and climb in Chamonix this summer. A couple of outdoor climbing trips would be great too. In the back of mind, I would also really love to run the NYC Marathon. There are a couple of folks from work who would like to run it as well, so maybe that will motivate us all to train for it. Running at least one 50K would also be a good goal, but it might not be until the end of the year. I would love to go out to Arizona to experience one of the Aravaipa races.
I haven't been too good about maintaining indoor biking miles so I will plan on getting at least an hour of biking on Zwift. I'd love to get my mileage up to 25-30 miles a week before the summer so that I have a good base for marathon training. I'll keep running mostly easy, adding in strides and hill work. I'd also love to maintain gym climbing at least 3 days a week and strength training at least once a week.
Not to be taken for granted is that I'm currently physically healthy. I know it's no small feat to end the year feeling good and injury-free. I still could of course improve in many ways. Sometimes my knees hurt going up and down the stairs. Not sure if this just aging or diet-related or both. Anyway, another one of my goals is the improve my eating. I was a bit less thoughtful about eating this year. An easy goal would be focusing on getting a wider variety of fruits and vegetables and cutting down on sugar.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy 2024!
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