2013 Year in Review (Running and Everything Else)

Is it too late to publish a 2013 year in review post?  What's the timeline for that sorta thing?  Perhaps I should start my 2014 year in review post now?!?  I follow a lot of blogs, most in some form or another involve running or an active lifestyle, and over the past few weeks I have read countless "year in review posts."  I had the intention of writing and posting a year in review post before the New Year, much like I had the intention of publishing my North Face Endurance Challenge Championship race report before the New Year...but we see how well that worked out :-(

Before traveling too far down the road of "how 2013 went,"  I wanted to revisit my goals at the start of 2013 from my first post of last year, 2013 - A New Year.

Maybe it's the engineer in me, but when thinking about things I want to accomplish in 2013 I wound up creating S.M.A.R.T. goals:

• Run 1300 miles for 2013
• In terms of attainable, I ran over 1000 miles in 2012 compared to ~600 in 2011.  My goal for 2012 was 1200.  I fell short but the goal drove me to achieve more then I thought I could.
• Redesign the blog by June 1st
• Modify the color scheme,  incorporate new plug-ins, create or work with a designer to make a custom template.
• Blog 24 times this year
• This one is pretty self explanatory.  I'm tired of the look and want to change up the blog to something more original..more me.
• Post more about cooking, design, photography, gadgets, school, etc. 
• Create a series on the blog and have at least 6 posts relating to it.  I've never done a series (like Friday review or Tuesday tasting) that I think it will force me to be creative.

I don't think any of the above are easy, but all of them are attainable.  I'm looking forward to writing about our recent week at the beach and goal races for 2013 in the month of January! 

Run 1300 miles for 2013

After breaking 1500 miles for the year!

I was pretty ecstatic to break the first goal on the list, running 1300 miles in 2013, a few days into December.  Had I been wise, I would've taken the rest of December post North Face Endurance Challenge easy but that's simply not me.  For some silly reason, I decided that 1500 miles, or 200 miles in 28 days seemed like a reasonable goal and I started chasing after it.  With Michelle's help, and unfortunately at the expense of lashing out at my family several times over the holidays, I accomplished that goal on New Years Eve by running 13 miles with Michelle by my side (for 6 of them) to close out 2013!

I say at my families expense because I was slightly short/irritable possibly as a result of the increased training and the subsequent pressure I imposed on myself for most of the time I was home, the exact opposite of what I wanted.  Unacceptable.  I'm sorry guys!

I can't seem to quite figure out how to filter activity by both sport (i.e. running excluding biking) and year on Strava but in 2013 I managed to complete the 1500 miles in ~205 activities (245 hours) and roughly 110K of elevation gain.

Redesign the blog by June 1st

It simply didn't happen.  I only have myself to blame for this.  I did learn about Wordpress when I created a website for wedding stuff and I think that's the direction I'll ultimately go when I do make the transition.  Maybe it'll happen in 2014?  Probably not...but one can always dream.

Blog 24 times this year

I managed to post 29 times in 2013.  I would consider this partial success.  I say that because although I managed to better my goal of 2 posts a month, I didn't really venture out too much from race reports and running events, specifically my goal included:

Post more about cooking, design, photography, gadgets, school, etc

which I did to a certain extent but not enough to consider it a success.

Create a Series with 6 Posts
I did manage to do this but again I drifted a bit because I didn't sustain my Where's Waldo Wednesday series.  I think I've figured out how I want to change this in 2014 but more on that later.

In 2013, I managed to PR at just about every distance from 5k (although I do know I ran faster in HS but not sure of the length of those courses - some may have been short) up to 50 miles.  I talked about this a bit in my One-Month-Coundown post for the North Face Endurance Challenge and also in my Crooked Road 24HR race report.

I'm super pleased with how I grew this year as a runner.  I managed to join a group of runners, UltraVT, that have helped me fall in love with running trails and given me the confidence to take the next step, tackling my first 100 miler!


Everything Else

2013 was not only a fantastic year for running but also I popped the question to Michelle in the middle of a marathon last March.

Both my parents, and my friend Jonathan who's a photographer and was there to capture then moment, were there for my favorite memory of 2013!

She said YES!

 

Additionally, I'm almost done with school (again) and will graduate in May with my Masters of Arts in Education with licensure in Secondary Mathematics.  I had an amazing experience this fall during my student internship and look forward to this spring when I will student teach five days a week!  I adamantly believe that "you are who your surrounded by" and I'm so privileged to interact and spend time with the inspiring people in the Math Education program at Virginia Tech, I love them!

I have lots of big goals for 2014 (aside from graduating and getting a job) including getting married to my best friend in June!  I'm also going to attempt my first 100 miler in April and have a few races that I'm already registered for leading up to the race, specifically Holiday Lake 50k in mid-Februrary and Terrapin Mountain on March 22nd.

I'm truly blessed and privileged to have so many amazing and inspiring people in my life and want to thank everyone who was a part of 2013 - it was an amazing year!

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Where's Waldo Wednesday - 7/4/2013-7/15/2013

Where's Waldo Wednesday - The point of the week where more is behind than ahead and the weekend, and thus playtime, is the bright light at the end of the tunnel.  Why did I call it Where's Waldo Wednesday?  No particular reason really...other than I like alliteration and it is fun to say.  Try saying it five times fast!

A weekly (more like biweekly) series of what's new around here and other ramblings like things I found interesting on the internet this week or cool runs I did, kind of like a weekly synopsis.  Originally, I was going to do this on Sunday and call it Sunday Synopsis but then I couldn't decide between Sunday Synopsis and Sunday Summary...so I did the only logical thing and decided to write it on Wednesday?

Apparently not.  Can it be?  A Where's Waldo Wednesday that is actually published on Wednesday?  This week's edition encompasses the first-ish week of July!  While I fully intended to publish this post last Wednesday, I didn't get around to, which makes this version of Where's Waldo Wednesday like most others: a two-fer.

The Week's Happenings

Last Tuesday marked the beginning of the second summer session and with it an increased strain on my time training and blogging.  I suppose it was going to happen eventually.  Last Two Wednesdays ago was a rough evening with the end of my MacBook Pro via a glass of Airborne.  When it rains it pours I suppose (pun intended).  The night did end on a high note when I was notified that I won a pair of Recon Jet glasses.  The unfortunate spillage meant we were headed north on I-81 bright and early Thursday morning with the Tyson's Apple Store as our destination.  Unfortunately, they told me what I already knew which was that the cost of repairing my current MacBook Pro (including the MB, RAM, and HD) was equivalent to purchasing a new computer.  My real problem is that I wasn't ready to part with my MacBook Pro.  Although it was slowing down, it was still a phenomenal computer that I planned on using for the next 2+ years.  When I was discussing my options with Michelle, I arrived at the conclusion that I have an issue viewing computers as disposable objects that are traded up every 2-4 years.  I guess I look around at other electronics I own, aside from my phone, and compare their lives and wonder why do we replace computers so often?  For instance, my Canon Digital Rebel XT I've had since 2005 and it works like a champ!  Additionally, I think the move to digital media, specifically digital photos compared to printed photos, in combination with this trading-up of computers causes a loss of valuable media.  I digress.

1. Quality Family Time!  I try to look for the bright side in situations and this particular computer *incident* meant I would be home for my dad's birthday.  A bonus was that I was able to see both my Nanny (mom's Mom) and my grandmother and grandfather (dad's parents).  To say that I'm fortunate is a massive understatement.  I have been privileged to live near both sets of grandparents for most of my life but relocating after graduation and eventually moving back to Blacksburg means I don't see them as often.  I try to make the most of every opportunity I have to spend time with them.  They're all such an inspiration.  On Saturday evening, we all headed out to dinner at Tyson's to celebrate my dad's birthday.  The company and food were both phenomenal!

Michelle and I at Tysons.

My Dad's sisters called him to sing Happy Birthday via FaceTime!  Pretty awesome that FaceTime now works over cell network.

My dad and grandma.

My Nanny and Grandpa.

My mom and dad.

2. Paddleboarding on Claytor Lake!  Last Monday was my last "free" day and I wanted to get out on the paddleboard while I had the opportunity.  I packed up my car early Monday morning and made the short jaunt down I-81 to Claytor Lake.  During our trip back to Blacksburg on Sunday afternoon, Michelle checked out the weather for the following morning, which didn't look promising after 10AM but I figured I Could squeeze in a quick paddle. I figured wrong.  I arrived at Claytor Lake a little before 9 and was out on water about 10 minutes after arriving but within a half hour the clouds over the lake turned dark and I decided being the tallest object on a calm lake was NOT a good idea and bailed.  It was nice to be out on the water but the 30 minutes on the water hardly justified the hour drive (total).  However, the park attendant allowed me to use my day entry fee ($3) toward the annual pass for the park, which is good for a year from the purchase date.  We now have incentive to get down there as often as possible!

The paddleboard with the TS4 and Gorillapod setup.

I brought the TS4 and Gorillapod with me to put together a little film and was happy with what I ended up with considering I only paddled for a half hour:

I used a piece of rope to secure the camera and Gorillapod to the paddleboard in case I took a spill, which almost happened as you can see in the video.  The Gorillapod's legs fit perfectly into the paddleboard carrying handle and provided a really secure setup but I eventually moved it further forward on the board for a different perspective, which worked out better because I wasn't straddling the assembly.  It would be interesting to compare the quality of video that I was able to capture vs. a GoPro, I'm not sure a GoPro would do anything more for me aside from being a more condensed package.

Panasonic TS4 on a Gorillapod on the paddleboard.

3. Running in Jefferson National Forest  I've mentioned in several earlier posts that this spring I fell in love with running in Jefferson National Park, specifically the Pandapas Pond day use area just down the road on 460.  I took my camera with me on a run last week and stopped every so often when I came across a neat mushroom.  I was playing with getting closeup shots and was happy with how some of them came out.

Poverty Creek trail (left) is my favorite trail to run on (because it's flat) and is by far where I do the most miles in Pandapas.  These yellow guys (right) were somewhere along the Royale trail on my way up to the forest road (see the run details below).

I try to avoid the fire road (left) because...well...there are tons of awesome trails to use instead but sometimes it's nice to use it to connect trails. The entrance to the Queen Anne trail (right).

This guy was really neat.  I have no idea whether any of them are poisonous but they were pretty.

This one was really massive as you can see in comparison to my hand...and I don't have carny hands.

Possibly my favorite of the bunch.

This is my usual turn around spot on Poverty Creek, which is exactly 3 miles from the upper parking lot and is usually about mid-shin to knee deep...so an ideal place to turn around.  Unfortunately, I got some moisture on the lens of the camera between this photo and the next couple. 

Pandapas Pond.

Run Details:

4.  Back to NoVA  On Friday morning after class, Michelle and I headed north toward Sterling...again...but this time for my sister's Bridal shower...well Michelle was headed north for the bridal shower and I was driving.  Shortly after arriving we knocked out a quick 4 mile run in Algonkian Park.  We've been on a streak of running together and it's been awesome!  It was like all of sudden something clicked and we figured out how to run comfortably together.  I think she's gotten a lot stronger since she began training for the Hokie Half with her friend Shannon...and maybe I've become more patient...maybe.  

I realized on the drive there that I had left my Garmin but we were able to use my phone, until it died, to keep track of our run.  We did the first few miles of the North Face 50 course.  It's amazing how much you miss when you run it in the dark.  Michelle and I ran into this guy (or gal) within the first half mile of our run.  We approached apprehensively, especially with the start of the DC 50 miler, where a runner was taken out by a deer within the first few hundred feet of the race, fresh in my mind.

Michelle is pointing to a deer just over her shoulder.

I think this face is becoming a standard Michelle "this better not go on the blog" face.

When we ran the course it was ~15 miles to Great Falls but our route included a lollipop that I think accounts for the discrepancy with this sign.

Notice the gate in the left of the photo above and the concrete that at one point was in the ground keeping it up.

Thankfully there was a bridge across this section of the creek because it would not be crossable (safely) without it.

My phone died just before the end of the run.  It's interesting to compare the accuracy of the phone vs. the Garmin data from early June.  The phone appears to be more accurate or at least have less noise.

Garmin 310XT data from the North Face 50 miler in June.

5.  Registered for North Face ECS 50k San Francisco, CA  On Sunday evening, I registered for the North Face Endurance Challenge Championship Race in San Francisco on December 7, specifically the 50k.  I'm really excited about running this race and think it'll help me find motivation when I'm having a difficult time getting out the door for a run.  Look for a post in the next week or so with more details about the run!

Interesting Internet Findings

Not too much this week in terms of videos but I did mention this video to a few folks so here it is:

1. Impala Antelope vs. Car  This video is pretty wild.  I'm not sure what I would do if I were the folks in the car when the impala jumped in.
    
2. Is Chris Froome racing clean?  I thought this was an interesting read about the likelihood that he is comparing past times on a climbs and his this year as well as residual levels compared to other elite riders.  Read it HERE
3. Tragedy at Great Falls  When Michelle and I returned from our run on Friday afternoon, my mom let us know about this.  Really sad.  Link to rescue effort and story via Outside Magazine HERE

That's all for this edition of Where's Waldo Wednesday.  Michelle and I will finally have a weekend here in Blacksburg this upcoming weekend, which will nice to relax and not travel.

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Where's Waldo Wednesday - 6/?/13-6/19/13

Where's Waldo Wednesday - The point of the week where more is behind than ahead and the weekend, and thus playtime, is the bright light at the end of the tunnel.  Why did I call it Where's Waldo Wednesday?  No particular reason really...other than I like alliteration and it is fun to say.  Try saying it five times fast!

A weekly (more like biweekly) series of what's new around here and other ramblings like things I found interesting on the internet this week or cool runs I did, kind of like a weekly synopsis.  Originally, I was going to do this on Sunday and call it Sunday Synopsis but then I couldn't decide between Sunday Synopsis and Sunday Summary...so I did the only logical thing and decided to write it on Wednesday?

This week's edition encompasses...ermm...June? so it's somewhat of a month in review so far.  Also, that means this post is probably WAY too long for you so you may just want to skip through to options of interest.

The Week's Happenings

Honestly, there hasn't been much going on around here the past few weeks so I really don't have a whole lot to post about.  Michelle and I have been enjoying cooking and I feel like we're finally finding our niche of what we like to prepare/cook/eat.  One observation is our gradual shift toward a more plant-based diet.  I don't really have an interest in pursuing a vegetarian or vegan diet, or labeling our eating habits for that matter but instead focusing on eating foods as close to their original state as possible.  I've persuaded Michelle to try a vegetarian diet next spring just as an experiment to see what we think of it.

1. Learning to run again.  Well.  It feels like I am at least.  The arrival of warm weather has forced me to adjust my expectations when heading out for a run.  I learned this first hand last Thursday when I went out for a longish run in the morning that left me feeling humbled, and destroyed by the end.  It was the first double-digit distance run I had attempted since TNF 50 earlier this month and I knew early on in the run it was going to be rough day.  It was apparent that skipping breakfast, aside from a yogurt, and a measly dinner the night before had put me in a calorie deficit which caused me to run out of energy quick.  Fortunately, I had received my June StrideBox a few days earlier and decided to bring along a few items from it, which without I would have been in serious trouble.  Welcome to Bonkville.  I downed one of the green citrus chews below and began to feel better within a few minutes and continued along the Huckleberry trail out to Christiansburg.  On the return, around mile 8, I was feeling empty and defeated and began to walk.  It's easy to beat yourself up when you get into one of these situations.  I was thinking to myself, "I ran 50 miles two weeks ago and now I can't do 8?"  I'd be lying if I said I was positive the entire time but I try to keep things in perspective and appreciate the opportunity of the present and kept telling myself, "if it were easy, everyone would do it" and "it's the hard days that prepare you for tough moments in life."  Eventually...I finished the run and hopped on my bike to pickup groceries and race the storm home, narrowly escaping the epic downpour!

June StrideBox contents.

Details of my tough run.

2. Enjoy the moment.  It's been a slow progression for me and I still battle daily/hourly to simply slow down and enjoy the moment.  I think as a goal oriented individual it is difficult not to look to the future and simply enjoy being in the present.  On Friday, Michelle and I enjoyed a relaxing morning before taking a picnic lunch to Bissett Park.  We enjoyed just laying around in the sun and the gorgeous weather the day had to offer. It was fantastic practice for being content with the current and not thinking about everything that "needed to be done."

 We brought Gillie along which we don't always do and really need to be better about.  It's super easy to make excuses or not want to deal with the additional effort of packing a few bottles of water for her but the payoff is huge.  She's an outside dog and to see her so happy is totally worth the extra five minutes...and the occasional constant untangling of the leash from our chairs.

3. Starlite Drive-In - Furious 6.  With the upcoming switch to digital projectors from 35mm, Michelle and I figured we needed to see a movie in a drive-in before there weren't any around anymore so on Friday evening we headed just down the road to the Starlite Drive-In in Christiansburg to see Furious 6, the sixth installment in the the Fast and Furious franchise.  They have two showings a night, with the first beginning around 8:45ish and the second immediately upon the conclusion of the first. 

 

The entrance to the drive-in.  The screen is actually on the back of the large structure with the star painted on it.

The shot above on the left is the screen, obviously this was early on before everyone else arrived which made for a clean photo opportunity.  You can either tune your radio to 90.3FM to listen via car stereo or use the speakers that you can hang on your door (above right).  We opted for the latter and decided not to put it on the side of the car because the volume was high where it was.

4. Early morning run and enjoying Blacksburg.  I was struggling to get out of bed Saturday morning, especially after Thursdays demoralizing 12 mile run.  I find that previous statement funny.  When you think about it, the fact that I have the ability to run 12 miles at a whim even if it was at roughly a 9 min and change pace is nothing to scoff.  I think we put unnecessary pressure on ourselves all the time.  Breathe.  Enjoy the moment.  I managed 8 miles and felt good for most of the run which was somewhat redeeming.

We headed toward Blacksburg to visit the farmers market and then stopped and grabbed a bite at Moe's.  Afterwards, we walked around campus and showed Shannon, Michelle's friend from Radford, some of the cool things on Tech's campus.

Michelle and Shannon at the Pylons overlooking the Drillfield.

We headed over the Hahn Horticultural gardens, which are neat but we never make the time to get over there so it was nice to see everything in bloom. We noticed immediately upon entering they were setting up for a wedding and what a gorgeous setting it made.  However, I felt bad for the folks who were going to be sitting through a wedding with the TERRIBLE gnats that would not leave us alone while we were there.  We ventured down to the little pond and checked out the tent they had set up and were in the process of decorating.

  

Lily pads in the Hahn Horticultural Garden.

5.  Foodography.  It's no surprise that I like to cook but I always take photos of the food and feel it never does the meal justice to how it actually looks on my plate.  The colors always seem to be off and the entire meal just looks kinda...blah.  I would say that I make a good effort to plate food in an exciting and visually appealing way and have been taking lots of photos trying to figure out what I think looks good.  I'm happy with how the photos below have come out and hope that they will drive me to improve, both in cook/plating and taking the photos.  I'm all ears for suggestions...and all stomach for suggestions too!

I've been a bit of a wrap addict lately.  They take practically no time to prepare, under two minutes, and I can pack lots of good tasting, and nutritionally dense, food in a non-messy portable-handheld.  They're AWESOME!!!  And they photograph well too...or at least I think so.  The chips...well...yeah.  I have tried to cut out all things in the past and I always binge or overeat on something else.  These were the Kroger brand organic sweet potato chips.  They're delicious.  The side was just some plain greek-yogurt with bananas and blueberries and a dab of agave over the top.

Why am I writing all of this?  Because when I first tried to be aware of what I was eating, or how I still feel on some days, is that it take too much effort or cost too much or yada-yada yaya.  It doesn't.  It can be quick and simple and most importantly.  Cheap.

Instructions:

1. I use the Mission brand wraps, I'm sure any will do, and put them between two wet, not damp, paper towels and put it in the microwave for 20 seconds.
2. I spread some type of hummus or spread on the wrap which helps the wrap stick to itself and keeps everything sealed, although as you can see in the photos above I need to more toward the edges.
3. Next, I place spinach down as a moisture barrier between the wrap and hummus and everything else, which I think helps if you plan to not eat it right then.
4. I have been cutting thin slivers of a red bell pepper and using a peeler to make thin shavings of carrots which give a nice texture to the wrap.
5. I put on cheese and lunch meat and then seal it up.  I've found that I like the fold the sides in method and then start rolling to get a nice burrito-like roll.

4.  Self-portrait running photos.  It's not as easy as one might think.  Especially if you want the photos to be somewhere remote along your run because then you have to haul the camera with you and that presents a whole new challenge.  I've had a Gorillapod for a few years now but rarely make the effort to use it how it's intended.  The neat flexible digits allow you to wrap it around or position your camera on almost anything which is cool in-and-of-itself.

I thought the graffiti on tunnel in the photo below would make for a cool addition but it's hardly noticeable.  Anyone have suggestions?  Granted I was using the Panasonic TS4 which is a great camera but I'm not sure I had it set properly for taking this type of photo.

I decided to try a different location, which was actually just on the other side of the tunnel but actually used the Gorillapod this time and place the camera along a fence post.

meh...so it was a valuable learning experience.  I think one thing that is neat is the opportunity for other folks to see where I run.

On Tuesday, I registered for the Summer Solstice 5K, which is a run put on by RunAbout Sports that begins at 8:30PM this Saturday.  $19 is difficult to beat for a registration fee and I think it will be really fun to run at dusk...glow sticks are provided!

Interesting Internet Findings

1. From Addict to Ultra runner Western States is this weekend, which is pretty much the Super Bowl of ultra running.  I'm a huge fan of reading memoirs and stories triumph so I thought this article was a great read (and not too long) from the 2012 winner, Timothy Olson who runs for Pearl Izumi. Read it HERE.
2. GO. OUT. and. RUN.  At least that's how this video makes me feel! 
3. Talk about a close encounter!  This is absolutely frightening!
4. It's no surprise that I love pizza and Michelle and I make it pretty often around here but there's something about having a pizza delivered to your front door...but this brings a whole new meaning to carryout or delivery! 

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