Rear View

There seems to be a lot of “year in review” posts and articles floating around the ol’ worldwide web at this time of year. That, combined with two very slow days at work, gave me the grand idea to read back through all of my 2011 blog posts.

2011. It’s been an interesting ride.

Anyway, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and so here is my 2011 recap – in short form and links!

January
I PB’d the 8k distance for the first time in 2011 by outsprinting an unsuspecting competitor, (who in fact actually beat me in the race if you base it on chip time) and followed it up with a winning day of training.

February
I did some time trials, learned that a 14’ workout can be sheer agony, gave some thought to my bucket list, celebrated my 5 year wedding anniversary, spent some time in the Whistler ER with my bestie Laura and wiped the eff out on a curb attempting another 5k time trial.

March
Shane’s anniversary present finally arrived in the mail.

Bobble Head Shane
Also, I PB’d the 5k distance, but was still kind of disappointed in the race. In fact, I still am, I know I can run 5k faster than that.

April
I began a “Battle of the Sweets” at work, and mostly won (until this December hit – YIKES!). I set some quarter year resolutions and even played the alphabet game.

D is for Dog. H is for Hope.

May
May was a big month. Kirsten qualified for Boston! Let me just say that again – KIRSTEN QUALIFIED FOR BOSTON! I PB’d the 8k distance for the 2nd time in 2011. My parents kicked butt over 21.1kms on one of the soggiest days in the month of May.

Wet Happy Finishers
I tasted the ‘age group’ podium for the first time in my life as a triathlete (even with a horrific effort on the run)… and well, May 16th came and went - and I must say, I’m still very thankful to be alive and able.

June
Training was great. I definitely embraced the swim, work, run, eat, sleep, bike, work, run, eat, sleep, swim, work routine and loved it. I was super excited to race the Victoria Sprint at Elk Lake (and get the new hoody) and then was kinda disappointed in my race. [Side Note: Reading back all these posts, I’m sensing a theme here – I don’t ever seem to race to what I feel my full potential is. Must work on that in 2012].

July
I was originally planning to race in Vancouver, but life happened and a trip to the mainland wasn’t in the cards, so instead, Kirsten, Tyler and I had a little mini “Simulation Race” of sorts. It was probably my best performance of the year to that point, haha. I watched a lot (A LOT) of the Tour de France and then Shane and I jetted off to Orlando (for work and PLAY) where I won my very first (albeit not super competitive) 5k race! Woot!

Also, Lego Dog lives in Orlando!

August
I raced more. I wrote more. I made it onto the ‘age group’ podium for a 2nd time in 2011 and then had a race that just kind of happened. I questioned my ongoing anticoagulation and most importantly and excitingly I had the best end to August that any tri-geek could ask for! I qualified for the Age Group World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand next October and signed up for Ironman Canada 2012!

Registration Complete!

September
September brought along some indecision, the start to my yoga teacher training and plenty of things to be thankful for.

October
I tried to keep my mind off the fact that I decided not to run the Victoria Marathon. When the big day rolled around, I gave my cowbell a workout and played the role of [jealous] cheerleader. The next day it was all about CYCLOCROSS! Oh, and I dressed Rusty up as a dog-chicken for Halloween :)

Dog Chicken

November
Vegas Baby! Oh, and a DNF. But I still love cyclocross. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. SO.MUCH.FUN!

My Vegas Running Buddy

December
It’s been both a great month and a challenging month. I’ve struggled a little to find my rhythm with training, but I’ve also had some great workouts, some great yoga moments and a wonderful Christmas season with plenty to be thankful for. I turned 31 (and had trouble blowing out all the candles?!) and got spoiled rotten.

And now, here we are - the end of the year. While 2011 hasn’t had the epic-ness of an Ironman, it’s still been a pretty great year. I’ve learned lots and challenged myself in new ways. My main triathlon goal was to get faster, and I can say I have accomplished this.

On the training front, I’m currently enjoying a bit of downtime with a couple weeks of active recovery. It is just what I needed, and I'd say I'm definitely starting to feel a little bit more recharged. I'll admit, it has taken me longer to get to that state than I expected (and I don't know that I'm fully there yet), but I am definitely starting to feel a bit lazy and definitely kind of antsy, so I think that is a really good sign.

As the New Year dawns, the BUILD begins. I’m actually really looking forward to it (and am only a little bit nervous).

And with that, I bid 2011 adieu. I have a sneaking suspicion that 2012 is going to be one hell of a year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!