Looking Back: A year in review

2011-A brief overview

January

-Reached weight goal of 160. Thats 48 lbs lost since 2007.

(Halloween 2007 marked my heaviest weight, 208 lbs)

 

-Sun Valley ski trip. Great skiing with family. Crossing my fingers that I might be able to go in 2013

(Me, Allen, Maria, Scott, Christmas Chair lift)

February

-Became lifetime member of Weight Watchers. (Maintained 160 for 6 weeks)

-Birthday ski, 26k for 26 years. Training for the Tour of Anchorage.

March

-Finished my first 50k Tour of Anchorage- 5 hours and 45 minutes. 64th out of 67 women. Which means I wasn't last! 

(I said I wasn't going to ski again.  The reason my smile is so big is because I am so happy to be done) 

 -Began marathon training.  I do believe this saved my sanity and accellerated the healing process from breaking up. There is nothing quite like a 3 hour run to really clear your mind.

April

-Freeze Your Keys. I vowed not to drive my car anywhere and biked everywhere (or carpooled) for the entire month of April.  I lost track of how many miles I logged.  Thank goodness for studded tires.

May

-Started what turned out to be a very successful "Tuesday Night Trek" hiking series. 12 hikes in all!  I'm looking forward to doing this again. 

- Competed in my 1st triathlon - Gold Nugget. I entered on a whim. Who knew this would be the start of something life changing.  I raced on my commuter bike.  Still managed a time of 1:37.  Placing 354th out of 1291 women.  I hope to shave off a lot of time this year.

June

-Finished my first marathon.  Words can not express how I felt about the entire experience.  Time: 4:49.  Placed 187 out of 526 women. 

I hiked up Flat Top just over a week later. NBD. 

(hmmmm that guy in yellow looks suspiciously familiar)

July

-Hiked up Mt. Marathon to cheer on racers.  Another year as spectator...maybe this year?

-Competed in my 2nd triathlon - Xterra Hammerman, an offroad tri at Kincaid. 1st in age group (I only beat one other person...) Definitely feeling hooked on this triathlon business.   But not a fan of mountain biking.  Give me pavement!

-Hiked all of Crow Pass in one day.  First time ever on the trail. That's about 25 miles in approx 8 hours. Was a great jog/hike until Ike rolled in poop. Really really smelly poop.

(we're still smiling because this is just the beginning)

August
-Ran the Lost Lake Race for my second time. A 16 mile xc race in Seward.  I went from a time last year of 3:42 to 3:11.  I placed 172nd out of 374.  This race marked a big change in my life for 2010.  And it was the beginning of my love of endurance sports.  I love this race because there's abouut 6 miles of running down hill.  I will miss it next year because....

-Signed up for Ironman Canada.  August 26, 2012.  I just about had heart palpitations while doing so. 

September

-Competed in my 3rd Triathlon in Homer. I won my age group.  I was the only person in my age group.  This was the first race on my new bike.  I also ran my fastest 5 miles as far as I can tell...under 50 minutes?  And that was after biking up the nastiest hill I've ever ridden. 

-Tuesday Night Races! I ran mostly in the Lightning League this year (longer distance than the Farm League). Slow but steady!   I ran in every one except the last one which doesn't even really count since it's less than a mile. 

October

-Finished my 2nd Marathon. Who knew these things were addicting.  Dropped 20 minutes off from my first marathon.  Time 4:28. Ran in the Tuesday night race 3 days later. Lightning league.  Farm league is for sissies. 

(I look like I've been bleeding purple, but its just from a recent dye job and lots and lots of sweat) 

November
-Remember that guy in yellow?  I convinced him we should be more than friends.  Decided on a tentative move date to Kodiak, AK post Ironman race sometime in September.  HUGE life decision.

-Started rock climbing regularly. About twice a week. Guess what, it's fun.

December
-Started serious training for a half Ironman distance race.  Wildflower Long Course in Bradley, CA on May 5, 2012.  I'm doing this through Team in Training.  If you haven't already donated you should.  I'm getting close to my goal but I'm not there yet!  http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/lavatri12/clendaniel

-Christmas without Dad. 

(I promise we're not all this happy because you're gone, we definitely missed you Dad)

-Kevin visits!  I inflict the family on him and he survives.  Might have to keep this one.  During this week it's -5 to +5.  But we still went hiking anyways. 

-Maintaining a weight of 155. 

Parting thoughts

I don't think I've ever experienced so much in one year.  Joys and sorrows.  Amazing accomplishments.  Life changing experiences and decisions.  But 2012 is off to a great start too.  And it has the potential for being a phenomenal year.