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).

Race #3 of the Season: St. George Marathon

Back about a little over a year ago (two?), I finally seriously started considering running a standalone marathon.

I don't remember if it was due to all the fun tracking friends at Chicago and New York or what, but I decided to go for it. Partially because the thought did scare me, and it's been a long time since I signed up for the big scary goal, so to speak. We all know that I tried for Chicago and didn't get in, so I went with my backup plan, which was St. George.

Early training started out okay ... and then I got sick in early July and training was never the same. 

(Training hasn't been the same since 2021. I'm starting to wonder if it ever will be.)

If I had to guess, I got in maybe 6 or 7 double digit runs throughout the whole training cycle. The longest I got up to was 16 (17, maybe?). The only thing that would save my ass would be, once again, just knowing I can do hard shit - it just hurts a lot worse undertrained.

I booked our hotel in St. George starting Thursday since I thought the 5K B was running was Friday morning - it was Friday night. Oops. It did make things a lot less stressful on Friday, though, with the expo and everything.

As I said in my IG stories - we'll see if this is a true statement by Saturday afternoon.

After the expo, it was mainly resting and eating (... and pooping - nervous colon was acting on overdrive this day) until it was time for B to do his 5K ... which was going to be in the mid-90s, thanks to the temps being slightly unseasonably warmer.

Start line. I was on cheer duty and unfortunately only mostly got video.

We know B doesn't do well in heat, but he had some water with him and knew to take it easy. Wasn't his fastest 5K by any means and the heat did get to him a little, but he finished, so hooray for that.

Then, off to Denny's for some pre-race breakfast-for-dinner and some to go scrambled eggs so I could in theory have some food for my ass-early wakeup call.

Race Day

The alarm came nice and early. I got dressed and prepped my pack. I attempted to eat my reheated scrambled eggs, but maybe only got down a bite or two. I also took some dramamine for the bus ride ... just in case.

My bus time was 5:15 so we left the hotel around 4:55ish in order for B to drop me off. I got on the bus and went up to the chilly and windy start line, 26.2 miles away.

I stayed in my hoodie as long as I could - up until the 15 minute prior mark, when morning clothes had to be dropped off - with the space blanket they gave me wrapped around my knees. I mostly sat by myself, but eventually huddled around one of the campfires and briefly chatted with a few other runners. I dropped off my bag by 6:40 - keeping my space blanket - and decided to try a porta potty stop pre-race. I didn't have to go much, but I went some, and that made me feel better.

They had a small drone show to start which actually did the race countdown and at 7am, the gun went off. I crossed about 8 minutes later.

The first few miles clicked by pretty steadily. I kept to my practice strategy of water every half mile and a swig of Skratch at the mile markers/beeps. I started eating two miles in, with a maple candy, and at 3, a bite of pickle chicken ... rotating those two every mile. (I think it was two in.)

5K mark: 34:51

Sometime early on.

I was a little surprised at how well the early miles felt. It was a gradual downhill, any breeze was (mostly) behind us, it was cool but not cold, and I just steadily made my way down the course.

So steadily, B barely beat me to Veyo.

10K: 1:06:23

Veyo was about 7 miles in and I was able to get a nice high five from the hubs before I started the hellish climb out of town. That I've ridden before, but completely forgot about.

... those would be uphill runners. Photo courtesy B.

It's funny to say at mile 8/9, but the post-Veyo hill really was the beginning of the end for me. Up until this point, I had been walk/running, but definitely mostly running, and the lungs were doing fine and the HR definitely manageable. I still kept to my 20 breath walk breaks going up Veyo ... but if I were to do this again, I wouldn't. I would only run once my HR truly got back recovered again. I think everything got elevated and then it never really wanted to come down.

This hill is like a mile and a half and then the next ... four?ish miles are like straight rollers.

Half-Marathon: 2:31:33

You'd see the star balloons a decent way off, so it was nice to know you were coming on a mile marker. Also, I saw this and was happy to be halfway done but also a little like, still another fucking 13.1?

I think it was some point after this that we got the super fun 6% downhill grade - I am very grateful I'm a decent downhill runner as the gravity on any substantial hill meant I was running - walking was too awkward; the legs were just going to run instead. 

It was also starting to get quite warm at this point, though I was happy with the pace I was maintaining. I kept to the side of the road, running on the painted lines to keep my feet from overheating.

Speaking of my feet ... I was feeling like maybe I was developing some blisters on my bunions (spoiler: I did), but there's nothing to do but keep moving, so that's what I did.

I forget exactly what mile marker this was near - sometime between 17 and 18, I think? - but it was where the wheels really started falling off.

The race had a misting station at the crest of this little hill ... but it didn't really do much. I refilled my Skratch bottle sometime around mile 16 I think and added ice to it when I got that at 19 or 20. The ice bag I got went in my hat for a second, at the back of my neck, down my shorts ... before I put one cube under the hat, saved one for each hand, and put the rest in my bottle.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get ice again. I tried at 22 or 23ish, but the aid stations were out.

I saw B again at 24, I think, and I drank some of the icy cold water that he had. Around 24 was also where I lost my sub-12 pace, unfortunately, unable to keep running much more than a handful of feet before needing to walk, due to heat and feet.

I had the perfect amount of maple candies and pickle chicken, finishing up the last of each in their respective mile (24/25). I probably could have filled my pack a touch fuller in the morning, as I ran out of water at like mile 24.5, but I had enough Skratch to still get me through (and still a few ounces left at the finish).

It was hard, horrible, and brutal - but I did it. And I didn't need to stop for IcyHot (... never used it before; wasn't going to start then) or walk backwards down the hills, like I saw some people doing.

Overall Stats:

Time: 5:21:12

131/197 division (F40-44)

1171/1802 gender

3101/4600 overall

First official race at a distance means an automatic ringing of the PR bell!

Wee, medal. I think B's 5K medal is actually a touch bigger ...

Dead and DONE.

All in all, not too horribly terrible for being undertrained. Despite being labeled as a downhill course, St. George is deceptively hard and terrible ... which everyone I know who's done it previously decided to tell me in commiseration post-race. 

I feel extraordinarily lucky that I was able to manage stairs okay both up and down the day(s) after the race. I even did a stick/puck session in Vegas Sunday night with friends ... though I was a lot slower and the foot blisters were not my friends. The massage I got Monday was probably the worst thing for my recovery as I'm pretty sure the therapist bruised my damn spine as that hurt for like a week after. 

****

So now I've run a marathon ... I do believe that it did technically hurt worse than an Ironman, especially given the comparative effort/time. Running is very stupid ... but I'll still probably do another one eventually. In like another 10 years.

September Round Up

Take one good guess on how September went.

Swimming: 1950m (1.2 mi)
Cycling: 14.66 mi

Running: 36.77 mi

Lifting: four sessions (1:09)
Other: six sessions hockey (6:03), twelve walks (5:37)

I swam right before Brineman and then at Brineman. Same thing with the bike.

Running ... well, unsurprisingly, I barely ran when I was over in Europe. My last long run was a lot shorter than I'd hoped. 

And really, I need to lift more.

And I regret not getting out for any hiking and leaf peeping.

... as I've said for months (years?) now, I really need to figure out my shit ...

Race #2 of the Season: Brineman Sprint Triathlon

Because I liked doing Brineman last year, I decided to do it again ... even though, as we all know, my swimming and cycling has been abysmal this year.

Like, bad. 

In typical Utah fashion, I went back to the gym to swim ... only to be told the pool would be under construction for like two weeks (almost the entire lead up to the race). This happens every time I try to swim again after a layoff - dead serious. I actually went to my backup option this time, though, and got in a few times. I also dragged out the ol' tri bike and got back on it - that was less painful. And running ... well, I've been doing enough of that.

I also have like 17 years of experience doing endurance sports, so meh. Which is the worst attitude to have, I fully admit.

They did a packet pickup at the Nature Center near the house on Thursday night, so I chose to do my daily walk to that (nice little two miles round trip).

Friday morning, I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, threw on clothes, threw together my transition bag, and walked the half mile to transition to set up my spot.

Then a walk back home to eat breakfast, poop, and actually get dressed (and sunscreened and all that good stuff).

I forgot that there's a looooong wait in between the swim waves - there's about 90 minutes from the start of the half to the start of the sprint - so I just hung out while B went back home to make more coffee.

Perhaps not smart, I got into my wetsuit way early. And it was obvious I hadn't worn it in a year - it was TIGHT.

In chatting with someone before my start, apparently wetsuits do shrink if you don't wear them (it's not that we all gain weight), so next time I apparently need to get it wet and put it on to start getting it stretchy again like a week or so in advance. Still learning ...

A little after all the Olympic racers got in the water, I popped in for a tiny practice swim, just to see if I remember how to swim open water. Kinda - just have to get used to that first rush of COLD, as always.

The Swim: 

I feel like I got beat up a lot less than I did last year on the swim. I also felt like the first tiny bit went well ... and not so much afterward. Drank some lake water, the usual.

I felt like my sighting was terrible - even B commented on how terrible it was post-race - and it was obvious in how much extra my Garmin said I swam this year as opposed to last year: it's a 750m swim; Garmin had me doing 800something last year ... and over 1000something this year. Ooops.

Therefore, it's no surprise that my swim was like a good 5 minutes slower than last year.

(also huh, maybe not swimming actually matters ...)

Time: 22:55.3

T1:

Teeny tiny bit of Aquaphor on the back of the neck just in case I chafed (only felt like maybe? but better to be safe ...) and otherwise, in, out, faster than last year. Boo-yah.

Time: 1:58.33

The Bike:

... they really need to update the maps and distance of the bike course in their system, as it was the same course as last year (my usual ride out to the Antelope Island Causeway with a u-turn soon after the guard station) and NOT the weird winding neighborhood route.

I went back and forth with a few people, but mostly left them in my dust, which was nice.

How I managed to do better on the bike this year (by almost THREE MINUTES), I don't know. But I did.

Time: 33:00.65

T2:

Uneventful as per usual. Also chose not to BodyGlide feet (eh it's a sprint). Shaved off like a second from last year.

Time: 2:24.71

The Run:

So ... I was a little surprised on how well the run went, but TriUtah really needs to get their miles figured out. I hit mile 1 at 1.08, 2 at 2.08, 3 at 3.05 and the "3.2" mile course is really like 3.5. But thankfully I knew that going in this year UNLIKE LAST YEAR.

In looking back at last year's report, mile one was sub-11 - it was this year, too. Mile two was actually a lot slower, though, as I gave up and had a porta potty stop. But mile 3 went back sub-11 ... so without that porta potty stop, my run probably would have been significantly faster as opposed to like two seconds slower.

Dumb.

At like ... 1.25ish, maybe? Not looking terrible, tbh.

Looking a lot more terrible coming into the finish.

Time: 38:03.24

Overall Stats:
Time: 1:38:22.30

5/15 division (F40-44)

34/100 gender

113/237 overall

A bit worse than last year, and it's pretty much because of my terrible shit swim. But given how much I haven't swum over the past, well, two years, am I surprised? No. Am I still glad I can pull a sprint triathlon (essentially untrained) out of my ass? Yes. Very much so.

And I'll never not take a hilarious oversized brine shrimp medal.

August Round Up

Oh, it's pretty easy to guess how August went ...

Swimming: 1800m (1.12 mi)
Cycling: 26.65 mi
Running: 69.7 mi
Lifting: six sessions (1:40)
Other: five sessions hockey (7:01), eight walks (5:02)

Well, I got back in the pool and on the bike, so that's a plus? I have Brineman in two days and it's gonna be interesting, let's just say that.

Running picked up nicely, but it's still been a bit of a struggle. Life has continued to be a struggle, but I try. I try my best, even if it's not much most days.

Hockey has been regular, which is good. Lifting needs to get there again. And I've always got a walk to fall back on (when I'm not being eaten alive by mosquitos).

Not the worst month, but it could have (should have) been a lot fucking better ...

July Round Up

... I'm going to say it. July was shit.

Swimming: 0m (0 mi)
Cycling: 14.99 mi
Running: 24.17 mi
Lifting: four sessions (1:27)
Other: two sessions hockey (2:32), 16 walks (7:09)

When the most of what I did was walking? Yeeeeah.

I started off the month sick, and whatever I had essentially lingered for the first two weeks of July. I ran once and managed to play hockey in that period, but yeah. I don't enjoy hacking up a lung on the bench.

Everything else ... I just don't know. Life continues to be hard. I won't lie and say that I'm not a bit worried about marathon training, because I am. But I did finally manage to get in a good long run today, so I am hopefully working my way back on track there. And I did sign up for Brineman again, so the pool (and my bike) are in my future.

One step at a fucking time ...

June Round Up

Did I almost skip this? Yes. Is it also because I let my workout log get terribly behind due to life and a cold that knocked me out for two weeks? Also yes.

Survival is still clearly the name of the game.

Swimming: 1200m (.75 mi)
Cycling: 27.78 mi
Running: 44.06 mi
Lifting: eight sessions (3:01)
Other: one hike (1:31), three sessions hockey (3:32), 12 walks (4:54)

Do I swim or bike? Not really. Am I running? I'm trying. Am I trying to not freak out about the marathon I'm signed up for in October? Very much so.

I wish I fucking knew. I really, really do.

May Round Up

I'll give you one quick guess as to how May went.

If you guessed "I survived," you'd be right. Anything else? Welllll ...

Swimming: 2400m (1.49 mi)
Cycling: 26.82 mi
Running: 36.62 mi
Lifting: 11 sessions (4:29)
Other: two sessions hockey (2:20), one day skiing (:31), 8 walks (3:23)

And obviously it was more walking than that. 

I had about two good, solid weeks this month. Maybe 10 days. And that's about it. 

Non-athletically, I've rediscovered fiction writing and it's been amazing, but it's also taken over my brain. Which means I haven't really been properly taking care of myself, which means the basics like eating and moving. Trying to train is tough when you're literally low on fuel. 

Balance is a bitch in my life these days, but I'm forever hopeful and forever picking myself back up and trying again.

April Round Up

... is any month good anymore? Things to ponder ...

Swimming: 3400m (2.11 mi)
Cycling: 17.76 mi
Running: 30.11 mi
Lifting: 11 sessions (3:33)
Other: four sessions hockey (4:58), eight walks (3:49), one session yoga (:10)

Tell me if you've heard this story before: the month started off well, I took a trip ... and then everything went to shit. In a new twist, just as things started to look back up again, I got a little sick. Thankfully that was pretty much only a lost weekend, but still.

I really wish I knew why swimming and cycling are so hard for me right now.

Running, thankfully, is starting to come around. All the hockey (that is, sprint work) is finally starting to pay off as I did my first three mile run with NO WALKING for the first time in I don't know how many years.

Strength is slowly starting to come around again which is a good thing and so necessary.

We kind of gave up on skiing for the season since hockey has been our main priority instead (and schedules have been shit for it unless we want to ski on a weekend which is something I do not do), but I'm not mad about hockey being the priority.

And I only missed one walk this whole month ... though I wish I logged way fewer as my only workout of the day.

Obviously I have hopes for May but at this point ... I need to keep surviving. And hope swimming and cycling get easier at some point if I want to have a prayer at even considering going back to Ironman next year ...

March Round Up

March - let's call it what it was (courtesy of The Simpsons) - a very lousy Smarch.

Swimming: 2000m (1.24 mi)
Cycling: 20.11 mi
Running: 21.08 mi
Lifting: four sessions (1:49)
Other: six sessions hockey (6:19), two days skiing (3:24), 14 walks (6:35)

You know it's bad when I have FOURTEEN FUCKING WALKS logged. When that's all I manage to do for like half the fucking month.

The first week? Was fine. I had my planned trip ... and around there everything went to shit. Why? I am still trying to figure it out. Am I still broken from the world waffling? Is it some sort of weird burnout? I wish I knew.

But. I did manage that duathlon that went ... okay. And I officially signed up for the St. George Marathon, so there's that. 

And I've really loved getting back into hockey (even though my season's basically over so that'll drop off some). Thankfully I'm only planning on short and local if I do tris ... but if anything, that running needs to get WAY better.

Race #1 of the Season: Icebreaker Sprint Duathlon

Except for the marathon I'm hoping to race later this fall (and which I get to sign up for on Monday ...), I'm planning on my racing this season to be small and local. Which I guess the marathon is technically. 

The multisport race season starts around here with the Icebreaker Sprint Tri down in American Fork in late March. It's a 300m pool swim and I would rather *not* do a triathlon with a pool swim (for many reasons; one of which is I'm slower so it would take an hour before I even got IN to the pool ...) if possible. Thankfully, they had a duathlon option (apparently new this year) and since I like duathlons and haven't done one in far too long, I chose that.

I'd been watching the weather for a while and rain was popping in and out of the forecast, but thankfully race day was dry. Chilly and the breeze kicked up by the finish, but dry.

Even better is that the hubs was off and could take pictures.

In our normal fashion, we got there early. But the duathlon also took off ten minutes before the triathlon did, so there was that. There only ended up being a handful of us - they announced eight, but there were nine or ten of us who lined up to start.

It was high-40s, low-50s, maybe? Totally warm enough.

The Bike:

The bike course was two loops on the bike and one on the run. Two older guys took an early, early lead and then three of us women kind of spread out. There was one in front of me that was far enough in front that depending after turns, I lost sight of her and the woman behind me I ended up getting about a quarter mile ahead of, as well.

But, thanks to not a lot of people being out there ... I somehow missed a turn somewhere and got about a mile off course. How I missed the cones I don't know - was it when I took a drink? did they somehow not exist? - but yeah. I eventually caught back up with the race, but UGH.

Coming back up into transition after making the CORRECT turn on loop two.

Time: 48:23

T:

I was obviously a bit annoyed about the bike snafu, but oh well. Still had to run, so I got ready to do that.

Time: 1:38

The Run:

Heading out.

It was a bit rough going the first mile - especially because it followed the bike course and that first mile or so had some hella nasty hills. Some of the speedy people from the tri also started passing me, too. But all I could do was keep one foot in front of the other and so I did.

About halfway through, I did try a maple candy (basically straight maple sugar - bought them up in Maine) to potentially test it out as marathon fuel - I think, as long as they're a lot fresher and not half-crystallized, they'll work.

Even though the race does end up going downhill which helps things out, I did solidly negative split the run (which my Garmin had being just short of a 5K).

Coming down the hill that takes you to the field to the finish.

Crossing the finish.

Time: 32:16

Overall Stats:

Time: 1:22:16.93

4/5 gender (so few so not a separate age division)

5/8 overall

The bummer of the matter was that I was only a minute behind third and like two behind second so if I hadn't gotten lost and rode an extra mile on the bike course (anywhere from 3-5 minutes) ... but alas.

Still got my pancakes. Not quite as good as Flippin' Flapjacks, but is anything?

Mmm, pancakes.

Race yeti ... which did the funniest pre-race announcements. Translated, of course.

Second TriUtah race and they do a good job. I think I have one or two potential other possibilities by them on my race calendar as well ... including doing Brineman again.

February Round Up

For the most part, February was an improvement over January. And that's all I can really hope for these days, isn't it?

Swimming: 4500m (2.8 mi)
Cycling: 52.98 mi
Running: 26.06 mi
Lifting: eight sessions (3:05)
Other: five sessions hockey (4:54), three days skiing (8:40), ten walks (5:21)

The good news is, the improvement came even with me essentially taking a week off thanks to getting kinda sick (which is why all the logged walking so as not to have off days).

Swimming was up 500m which isn't much, but for me these days? That is huge.

The bike was up a whole lot which is GREAT. I got outside twice and attempted my usual Miracle ride on 2.22. The trainer is still a struggle, but I'm fighting the good fight.

Running was down a mile, but that's the only thing that was down. Thanks to the hockey, though, I am seeing glimpses of improvement here and there. Which I was hoping for ... since hockey is a way more fun way to get (the benefits of) speed work in.

I lifted twice more than in January. 

Hockey we know is up - and we've officially signed up to play in Germany in September - so that is 100% going to continue to be a thing.

We also finally got up the mountain a bit more. Still need a few more days to feel like we've justified the passes, but y'know. That should come.

March we're hoping for more of the same. I know I'll have a marginal down week the second full week of the month - going to tag along to Atlanta with B so no bike or swim - but I can plan for that, so it's okay. Running is the main thing I need to do this year anyway, and that can happen everywhere, so I think (hope) I should be good. Hopefully.

January Round Up

As months go lately, January was fairly typical. Started off strong ... tapered off thanks to some travel. And, well, it is.

Swimming: 4000m (2.49 mi)
Cycling: 15.71 mi
Running: 27.13 mi
Lifting: six sessions (2:27)
Other: two sessions hockey (1:59), one session erg (:10), one day skiing (:45), eight walks (3:58), one session yoga (:25)

Swimming and riding weren't nearly as much as I'd hoped, but at least I did them somewhat. Running fell apart a bit in the later part of the month, but I'm on track with my long runs, so that's a plus. Lifting REALLY needs to get upped. Like for real.

The other has been great. Hockey is on a regular basis for at least the next few months. Skiing is going to start popping up a bit more (although the time listed might be less now that my Garmin actually tracks such things). I did walk a lot more than listed, but I'm not logging all of it in BT (except in daily notes). 

I have had better starts to my years for sure, but I've also probably have had worse. Here's hoping February ends up being somewhat better.

2024 Goals

Well, as opposed to last year, I do have marginally more direction in my goals this year.

The first and foremost being, run my first (standalone) marathon. Which will be St. George (as soon as I'm allowed to register April 1).

I have a loose training plan already and I'll fine tune it as I get to the point where the actual plan would kick in (either 16 or 18 weeks out, probably).

As for the rest of things ... I've joined a hockey team (first game Sunday) ... mostly because B and I are hoping to play in a tournament in Germany over Oktoberfest with the same group I did my Europe hockey tours with back in college.

I have a few tentative races on the schedule, but haven't signed up for anything yet:
- Icebreaker Duathlon in early March (technically a tri, but I don't do pool swim tris)
- Antelope Island Duathlon in early April (are these two races question marks due to weather? Because yes, yes they are)
- Jurassic Run 5K in late June (okay, this one is going on the schedule because it runs through a dinosaur park in Ogden and DUDE SO US)
- Echo Canyon Tri in mid-July
- either Daybreak Tri or Provo Canyon half in mid-August (partially depends on what we do (if anything) for B's birthday)
- East Canyon Half in late August (depends on if I do Provo Canyon)
- Brineman again in early September (depends on if I have the time or if I'm on a plane to Germany at the time)

A cousin also is trying to get me to do the Chicago Triathlon (probably because he couldn't talk me into doing a charity slot for the marathon) which is in late August ... but that's probably gonna be a no.

I also know that balancing a local tri season with hockey and marathon training is going to be interesting - especially because I will have to get creative with runs around the Germany trip if it happens (I've already accepted I'm probably forgoing a long run that week, but the extra rest - and sprint work from hockey! - probably won't be the worst thing). But I've never wanted to be shoved in a box, and 40 apparently is me doing all the things. So it goes.

But. Actual goals:
- Finish my marathon
- Preferably with a respectable time (if I could do around 5, I'd be thrilled)
- Stay healthy and happy with everything
- Not neglect strength and flexibility
- If I do Brineman ... do better than last year

December and 2023 Round Up

 Oh 2023. I'm glad you're gone. But let's talk about December first, shall we?

Swimming: 0m (0 mi)
Cycling: 39.7 mi
Running: 16.27 mi
Lifting: 16 sessions (5:41)
Other: two sessions hockey (2:18), two sessions indoor rowing (:15), four walks (1:28)

Swimming just ended up being a disaster. I did actually try to go to the gym to swim ... only to find out that the pool was closed due to a broken heater. I almost went to another gym to try ... but the amount of energy I expended just to even go that day meant that nope. Not a thing. Pretty sure I started this year being frustrated by a closed pool, so it's fitting that it ended that way, too.

Cycling was marginally respectable (by this year's standards). I attempted the yearly Stomp the Trainer challenge, but only got two days done. But I tried. And we actually had a nice day in mid-December so I GOT OUTSIDE. Because that wasn't a thing at all last year.

Running ... was a bit of a struggle.

Lifting I had a plan which helped and as for the rest of it ... I have officially decided to get back into hockey (yay?), so more of that to come. And for the rest of it ... I moved. Some.

As for 2023 ...

Everything was terrible. My swimming hasn't been that bad since 2011. The cycling was the worst since I started logging it seriously back in 2010. Running wasn't my worst year. Definitely in the bottom half (third) of years, but still marginally respectable.

My main "goal" for the year - if you even want to call it that - that I blogged about here was to get back into shape and take back my health. Did I do that? I would argue no. But I do think I might be on my way.

The best thing I can say out of 2023 is that, while it was pretty shitty, it didn't break me. And I think I can finally see some light at the other end of the tunnel.