Looking back through my logs I see some things I knew to be true. First, I was fitter and more dedicated in 2011 and 2012. I also wasn't as well balanced both in terms of taking care of myself and with in regards to my family life. While 2011 and 2012 delivered perhaps some of my best running moments (Bighorn 50K, Leadville 50/100, and Jemez), I also suffered the consequences of riding the fine line of over-training. After Leadville in 2011, the stress of the race and my (too low) weight took a big toll on me and I essentially was forced to shut it down until late January 2012. I rebounded to gain perhaps my highest level of fitness which translated into the Jemez run. However, I struggled mightily just 4 weeks later at Bighorn which ultimately ended in a DNF and then a stress fracture at Run Rabbit Run which ended in another DNF.
Since then I've simply not trained at the intensity that I did in the
past while continuing to race about as much. The results were to be as
expected, which were OK, but certainly not to my potential. This past
year in particular I did pretty much what I wanted and didn't stick to
any specific training plan. The biggest pro to this was that I ended up
doing a bunch of stuff I otherwise wouldn't have done. Todd and I
sketched out a Front Range Traverse from his house to Cannonball Creek
and Patrick joined along for the ride. I got to do some scouting for
the Pfiffner traverse, and check out large sections of the San Juans
with Scott and Brendan. I also managed to confirm the fact that while I like the idea of the desert, I just don't like the desert. Zion was beautiful, but brutal, glad to have done the traverse, but glad to have it done.
The cons of that schedule and preparation is that I simply ran poorly at basically every race. Despite that fact, I had a really great time just being in the mountains and hanging out in cool places with my family. Perhaps tops on the list was Crested Butte, which was a big hit with the kids thanks to their public dirt tracks. This year I'm taking a very different approach and have cleared out the schedule to do two races: Collegiate Peaks 50 and Angeles Crest 100. I also have a very clear plan as to how to achieve the results I'd like and maximize my time at home as well. Unlike last year I have every day planned out between today and August 2nd. I'll be out for long training/adventure runs with Ring the Peak in June and hopefully Pfiffner in July (weather permitting).
On the non running front, I'm continuing my goal of 12 books a year. Last year I managed 19 books (list at the bottom of this post) and have a great stash from Christmas that should get me though the first half of the year at least. Also, I managed my goal of 365 different beers in 2014 and made it to 372 (again, list at the bottom). While it was fun, and it forced me to try things I otherwise wouldn't have thought of, I'm very much looking forward to simply buying a normal six-pack of whatever I'm in the mood of. Replacing that goal for 2015 is my new goal of excess: pie. I love pie, and decided early in 2014 that I wanted to learn to make pies after listening to an Enormocast episode with James Lucas. Santa was kind to me and I now have a number of useful tools for pie making. As with all things, practice makes perfect, so my goal for 2015 is 52 pies. I've done 4 pies so far, and only one of them was a disaster. There's no way I can eat 52 pies this year and remain fit, so if you'd like a handmade pie, feel free to give me the ingredients of your choosing and I'll make you a pie. Really enjoying the simplicity of making the dough with just my hands; it's a more rewarding process than making beer. So, until next year, enjoy the photos from 2014.
2014 Book Goal :: 19/12
2014 Beer Goal :: 372/365
