January Round Up

It was not intentional (getting sick for like two weeks doesn't help things), but January ended up being a lot of the same old, same old.

Swimming: 0m (0mi)
Cycling: 0 mi
Running: 7.84 mi
Lifting: four sessions (:59)
Other: three sessions hockey (3:15), two walks (:31)

I did actually attempt to sketch out whether I could feasibly do IM 70.3 St. George and ... well ... at my current level of fitness? It's not smart. Given that my run base is non-existent right now, I could safely work my way up to 8 or 9 miles which isn't the worst, but not what I'd feel comfortable with. Especially on that course, which is a brutal bike. And with the swim being what it usually is (typically cold AF)? Yeah, not smart. So I miss that opportunity, and I'm going to have to live with it.

If I can claw my way back to a decent base by the summer, I may still consider signing up for Challenge Roth in 2026 since it does fall on my birthday, but I'm also still unsure about that. Fear rules a lot right now, and I don't enjoy it.

2025 Goals

... I should probably not make this post while I'm sick (came down with one of the plagues that's been going around for everyone - got it from B), but here we are.

Do I have goals for 2025?

Truth be told ... I don't know.

Get healthier. I feel like I took a large step back last year - I rarely get sick and yet I was sick multiple times last year. I hate the way I look, the way I feel in my skin - it's definitely a year where I felt like I came out worse than I entered it.

So for 2025? I'd ideally like to finally FIGURE OUT MY DAMN SHIT, but I've been hoping for that since 2021, so good luck?

I was considering signing up for St. George 70.3, since it's being discontinued after this year, but I still haven't quite decided. Whether I want to do it for the right reasons, or just because it's going away.

I definitely have a dinosaur-themed 5K that we were supposed to do last year, but had a conflict with something else, so we deferred it a year. I may do the Icebreaker du again, but we'll see. Brineman sprint is also a possibility. I in theory said I'd do a sprint up in Idaho with a friend, but I haven't officially signed up for it.

This is rambling. I don't know.

2025: may I end the year feeling better and stronger than when I started it.

December and 2024 Round Up

... let's just get into it.

Swimming: 0m (0mi)

Cycling: 0 m

Running: 2.27 mi

Lifting: one session (:10)
Other: six sessions hockey (5:56), one walk (:22)

The intentional rest from November turned into somewhat unintentional rest in December. There were some perks - I had a hockey tourney mid-month and we ended up having to play four games in three days ... and, unlike the Germany tournament, they were actual, full-length games. I also survived it (though my lack of endurance is starting to show) ... and I played some of my best hockey.

But really, the month seemed emblematic of the year. Idle. Stagnant. Never truly getting going.

What was good about 2024? 

I played a lot of hockey.

I ran my first (standalone) marathon.

I broke a very old half-marathon PR.

... and in terms of athletic accomplishments, that might be it. I'm slower. I'm definitely heavier. I'm weaker. And my brain still hates me.

But it is. It's done, and it's in the past. All I can do now is try to hopefully move forward.

November Round Up

Surprise, surprise - I did nothing in November.

Swimming: 0m (0 mi)
Cycling: 3.71 mi 

Running: 2.42 mi

Lifting: one session (:18)

Other: one hike (:55), three sessions hockey (3:04), two walks (:32)

To be fair, this was completely intentional. Well, unintentionally intentional. I just decided to let myself rest for a change and this was the result. Still playing hockey since I still have my team, but that's about it.

And it was nice.

And since we're halfway into December, full disclosure: I'm basically doing the same here.

October Round Up

October ... was an interesting month. Clearly I raced more than I had all year, but that was about it.

Swimming: 0m (0mi)
Cycling: 0 mi
Running: 51.22 mi
Lifting: two sessions (:21)
Other: one hike (1:10), six sessions hockey (5:58), 13 walks (8:07)

Yep. Can we even call me a triathlete anymore? (Kidding ... kind of).

I barely ran outside my races, but I PR'ed my half, so whatever. Lifting was absolutely abysmal. That has to change. I'm glad we got out hiking again and hockey season has begun again in earnest. 

Really, the thing that saved my booty this month in terms of movement was B's company's Walktober program. That got me out the door if nothing else would.

We're about a week into November and I haven't planned a thing. Should I? Probably. Will I? Probably not. Plans haven't really gotten me anywhere, so right now, I'm going to just do my best to move and go from there.

Race #5 of the Season: Haunted 5K (Provo)

I also ran this one for the medal.

With how well I ran the half, I thought that maybe the 5K could also go well ... but I think I destroyed my poor immune system and got sick in between the two races. 

Everything was in my head - nothing in my chest - so I figured I'd show up, run easy, and if I needed to, I could just walk it in (perks of it being just a 5K).

Pseudo-dragon rider outfit. Kinda.

I definitely started out pretty easy, but I was happy with how much I was able to run. I walked whenever things seemed to get spicy with the ol' lungs (and heart rate), but I ran way more than I was expecting. 

Honestly, for running sick, it went well.

Truthfully, there's not much to say about this race other than that I FINALLY ran smart enough while under the weather to not finish it hacking and dying like I usually do.

That's growth, friends.

Overall Stats:
Time: 34:24.04
17/65 division (F40-44)
214/798 gender
442/1286 overall

And yes, I got another badass dragon medal for the effort.

Race #4 of the Season: Haunted Half (Emigration Canyon)

I signed up for this race solely for the medal.

Let's just get that out of the way now. While last year's Haunted 5K had the creepiest clown medal known to man, the two Haunted races this year (Emigration Canyon and Provo) had dragon medals ... and the best two were the Emigration half and the Provo 5K. So I maybe signed up like a week before Emigration for both races.

I had barely run since St. George, but the race was downhill and I figured I had enough residual fitness to be fine.

(... I clearly have a LOT of faith in myself ...)

B was out of town so I was rolling solo for this one. I woke up early, ate breakfast, packed my handheld with Skratch, and grabbed some maple candies before driving down to Sugar House where I had to catch a bus. I also took Dramamine ... which is having the (helpful?) side effect of canceling the need for (any, really) race morning poops.

Unlike St. George, it was quite chilly up at the start and stayed that way through most of the race - it was probably low-40s up at the start and windy and I don't know if it even hit 50 by the time I finished. Maybe low-50s at the finish. In other words ... perfect running weather for me, since we all know I run hot.

Waiting to start. That arch was FIGHTING the wind.

We started and I just ... ran. The first ... 9-10 miles were all downhill running down the canyon. I don't even think I walked for the first time until three miles in.

In the meantime, I was just clicking off sub-10 miles, but I didn't feel like I was pushing it that hard.

I forget whether I started at two or three miles in, but I did start the maple candies and then ate them every other mile (so if it was at three, on the odds, and if at two, on the evens) ... as well as a slug of Skratch every mile.

I did walk a tiny bit here and there, but for the most part, it was just steady running.

The problem with this is, of course, is I started wondering if I could hold it and PR.

Photo courtesy of Runtastic Haunted.

Photo courtesy Runtastic Haunted.

We exited out the canyon with ... I think four to go to the finish, with half of that on the 5K course - which, if you recall, I ran last year. And I knew that it was a lot more undulating than I had been running, with one horrible hill in the last mile.

Still, I decided to push it, to try, to see what I could do.

It hurt. A lot. I was doing my best to keep the walk breaks to an absolute minimum and to never extend them longer than the 20 breaths. Since I have become a giant Empyrean series nerd (... peep the shirt that a friend designed!), I channeled my inner Violet Sorrengail by telling myself to box the pain in my brain and ignore it.

Look at that delightful grimace. Photo courtesy Runtastic Haunted.

The question is ... was it enough?

Holy. Fuck.

Overall Stats:

Time: 2:09:51.65

27/64 division (F40-44)

234/534 gender

483/891 overall

That, my friends, is an eleven-year-old PR broken. Almost 11 years to the date, too. If you recall from that race, the Garmin had 2:09:44 for 13.11, but it measured long, so watch stats had like 2:12 for 13.3 miles or whatever. This one? 

This one's official. 

There has been a part of me that wondered if I'd ever go that fast again, whether I wanted to try. 

Turns out I just needed a downhill course and the perfect conditions. And a willingness to suffer (nice to know that still exists, too).