2021 The Year in Review

 So  2021 has come and gone. Another year with COVID restrictions and limited in person events. So one could easily have decided to cut back on things and just be, though I decided that wasn't for me.  

The year started out with some speed skating at the Oval. Luckily our oval is outdoors, which is bad when the weather sucks, but during a pandemic, it is great. 

And while I kept running all winter, I also took up a cycling challenge to virtually ride the coast line of Nova Scotia. Put on by Route 541 (which hosts other virtual fundraisers) this allowed you all year to get the ride done. While I didn't finish first, I did finish in the top ten and managed to get the over 2000km done in a few months on the indoor bike trainer. 

In April, during what should have been Trail Cleanup Day and World Litter Run Day, we had a lock down. While we couldn't gather, I could at least hit the trail and make sure to do my part. I committed to a bag of garbage from our trail a day. And while I didn't keep a daily litter run going (like Luke does), I do commit to picking up some trash when I can to keep my neighbourhood and our trail clean. 

I continued with skipping when I could and one the weather warmed up I took to the lake, often with Craig for our weekly swims. But the bulk of my year was running. And while I still committed to my monthly 5K time trail of a sub 18 minute run (which I managed to do), without a proper race on schedule, I decided to start training for a Fall Ultra Road Marathon. This was the Valley 50K. While it was never certain that it would be run, I figured the worst thing to come from this was a good solid training block of fitness I could use at some other time. 

I wrote about this race previously, and my other running exploits on the blog. While the Ultra was the highlight of my running year, the toughest / funnest / craziest was Craig and I running the Rum Runners Relay by ourselves. 110km in total with 60km for me in one day was a tough go, and probably harder than the race but in the end worth it. 

Finally, I managed to host 2 in person running events. One canicross event and my Movember Run. Both fundraisers and both big successes. 

I was lucky to be an ambassador for Nuun Hydration (electrolyte drink), which was a key tool I used in my run training. I was also an ambassador for Balega Socks. I love socks and good quality running socks are certainly worth it. Balega were great to have on board to help me get to the finish line of my events with my feet staying together (trust me, I have had poor sock choices and horrid blisters before).

Support for my athletic year came from friends at Sportwheels and Aerobics First and of course the BLT Runners. I love to help them give back to the athletic community as much as I can. 

And now the numbers:

Running: 3201 km. This was actually lower than last year. Now I will say I really cut down on how many weekly kilometers I was doing after my Ultra. So November and December were significantly reduced. Otherwise I probably would have been much closer. Of course all this goes to show that it isn't super high mileage you need, but well planned mileage.

Cycling: 4180. Down a little bit as well. I went cycling heavy to start the year with the virtual event, then mostly used it as a cross training and of course the weekly Sportwheels rides I host. I always want more cycling, but alas there is never enough time. 

Swimming: 11253m. Another drop, but I think overall my swimming was much better this year. Again, while I wanted to get in the lake more often, run training really takes it tole on you and I didn't want to be hitting the lake tired. 

Other: This would be skipping, walking, skating etc... 483km and almost 90 hours. 

I am not going to commit to anything specific for the coming 2022 season. One thing I would like to do is get training again for a fast 10km run. Maybe it will be a virtual race, a time trial or perhaps something in person. I am open to all options. 

Have a great 2022 every one.