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2020: Year in Review

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Whew… 2020 was quite a year, right?!

February, the last month of normalcy, seems like a distant memory.

I won’t list all the travails we have been through… with COVID, civil unrest, the 2020 election, etc, it was a dramatic year, with plenty of challenges.

Instead, I am going to focus on the positives for our family.. but of course, there were a few lows too.

The Highs:

  • Travel: Though we had to postpone both of our planned vacations (Disney with the kids, anniversary trip to Germany), we still got some great travels in:
The Vila family at Mt Rushmore

  • Running: My running took a backseat to hiking, especially due to the below-mentioned hip injury, but still managed some awesome memories:

House Rock rocked–part of Hanging Rock State Park’s event “Reach the Peaks”

  • Other Highs:

    • I got back into rock-climbing (indoors) and went several times with my amazing friend MM!
    • We put a pool in our backyard–with heater so we can use it in the colder months–SO nice.
    • Gabe got into a charter school!
    • Asher is getting so strong at gymnastics.
    • Gabe decided to restart his Taekwondo classes.
    • Javi worked on gardening and getting our yard beautiful
    • Javi & I took a lovely local trip to the Proximity Hotel sans kids, and enjoyed an amazing dinner, then room service for breakfast!
    • My family cooperated for family photos 🙂

    • Vila Family 2020 holiday photos, taken by my wonderful neighbor, LS.
    • I read A LOT of books–approximately 2 per month (regrettably, I didn’t keep very good track of which ones I read and when)
    • I wrote a plethora of blog posts–47–almost more than the past 3 years combined!
    • Many of my photos were picked up by runners from the above-mentioned Olympic Trials–AND I got to high-5 Jenny Simpson at the Camel City Elite, after she set an indoor record (photos 3-5 in her post below)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jenny Simpson (@trackjenny)

The Lows:

  • All the days of virtual school. My husband was a saint as a “substitute teacher” and stay-at-home dad, but both of us were exhausted (and fell short) for a good portion of this year. The kids despised virtual learning, and can’t say I blame them.
  • I worked from home since March (and still am!) and though I’ve come to embrace certain aspects, I still really miss going into work and seeing my co-workers.
  • That time that I was exposed (ever so briefly, at a very small 8-person wedding) with someone who tested COVID positive 2 days later… I spent a weekend in May in quarantine from my own family 🙁  Thankfully I wasn’t sick.
  • That time during a stormy night in Vermont that I thought a bear was going to maul me.
  • Watching the news… between current events and politics, this became something I could hardly stand. Still taking a break from the news (I read it almost daily, but watch it rarely), something I plan to continue for my mental health.
  • My ongoing hip injury–it’s a dull ache/stiffness, that seems to be subsiding after multiple trips to the PT and chiropractor, but I struggled with this all year and still don’t know the root cause. Thankfully it’s mostly subsided, and feels about 95% better.
  • Several family members got sick (and one hospitalized) and it felt awful not being able to help them, and worse, wondering if they would be OK. Thankfully, everyone recovered.
  • I had my first car “accident”–a huge chunk of metal fell from someone’s truck, directly in my path on route 52 north, and I couldn’t swerve to avoid it on the crowded highway. It caused minor damage to the front bumper and undercarriage of my old BMW, but thankfully the insurance paid for it (and my husband came to my rescue. It was a long wait for the tow truck). Thankful that no one got hurt, and it was easily fixed!
Still not happy… in TN, a very long walk (7.5 miles!) back to the car.

I suppose I should revisit the goals I set for 2020… [green = met my goal, blue = halfway met, and red = did not meet this goal]

  1. Average 200+ minutes of running per week. Nope. Mainly because I got injured. I did average 18 miles/week on foot (running + walking) so I guess I probably came close to 200 minutes of walking/running.
  2. Run 60 minutes or longer once a week. Also no… there’s always next year?!
  3. Do one yoga class per week. Ugh… this one I blame on COVID. I was going once a week and then I wasn’t… I managed only 14 yoga sessions this year 🙁 Perhaps that’s why my hip is rebelling?!
  4. Do 1-2 strength sessions per week. I did 70 strength sessions this year, including some awesome ten minute bursts!
  5. Meditate daily (also working on practicing Spanish daily)… and journaling for a few minutes daily. No… no… and no. I did Spanish til Feb then fell off. Meditation and journaling just haven’t found their way into my daily routine, and I’m afraid they might not ever. Still have things to work on.
  6. Stretch, foam roll, or massage for 5 minutes per day. Well… I didn’t keep track especially well, but I’d venture to guess I was a 50% here. Better than nothing?!
  7. Eat 4+ different fruits/veggies per day. Haha… maybe I get 2-3 in, on a good day, so we’ll call that close enough 😉
  8. Eat 2 (or less) small sweet treats per day. Again… my average is probably 2-3 treats a day. Close? I felt like it just didn’t matter because, 2020.
  9. Stay consistent with 9-5 sleep each night (+/- one hour on either end). Yes, I did actually do this. And wrote about it!
  10. Stop yelling at the kiddos! Take deep breaths and remain CALM. Of course I didn’t fully accomplish this, but I just asked Gabe to grade me and he gave me a C+ (ha!) defined as “yelled 3-4 times a week.” I think he might be exaggerating (or confusing yelling with my “stern voice” which I do use quite a lot!) I feel like I held it together pretty well, most of the time, and definitely had less “Mommy-meltdowns” than in 2019.
I got back to strength-training! These step-ups are hard but definitely useful for mountain-climbing training.

My “big 3” running goals were:

  1. Run more miles. I did not run more miles, but it was due to injury, not motivation. As of May, I was on track for 900 miles this year, but then all the stuff with my hip happened, and I focused on more walking/hiking and strength work. All together, I ran 662 miles and walked/hiked 308 miles, for a total of 970 miles on foot in 2020.
  2. Run slower. Yes… I did this (not really by choice.. the hip slowed me way down)
  3. Stick to the plan. I did stick to my training plan most of the time.. but I also cut myself some slack because again, 2020.

My overarching goal was to “Be the strongest version of me” as in, get in the best shape of my life. Again, didn’t accomplish this, but hoping I set myself up to get in the best shape for 2021. I did improve my upper-body strength, going from 1 pull-up to 4 pull-ups, over the last 8-10 weeks of training. I don’t have many running improvements to mention, but I am happy that I finally figured out how to integrate strength training into my overall fitness plan, and I am much stronger for it.

Here’s the race reports (and hikes) from 2020:

January:

1/12/20: USATF Masters Southeast Regional Indoor Championships

February: 

2/2-2/3, Mountain Climbing in NC and TN (highpoints #1 and #2 on our new journey)

2/29/20: Spectating at the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta, GA

March:

3/1/20: Atlanta Publix 5K

April: 

4/12/20: Virtual 10K.

May:

5/10/20: Mother’s Day hike/trail run at Hanging Rock

5/15/20: Take back 2020 virtual challenge.

5/22 – 5/23, Mountain Climbing in SC and GA (highpoints #3 and #4)

June:

6/28/20: Mount Marcy, NY (highpoint #5)

6/30/20: Mount Mansfield, VT (highpoint #6)

July:

Nada. Dang I missing racing.

August:

Finished the Ten Minute Plan.

September:

9/5/20: Quarry Park PopUp 5K

9/14/20: Black Elk Peak, SD (highpoint #7)

9/16/20: White Butte, ND (highpoint #8)

9/27/2020: Reach the Peaks, 10 mile trail run, Hanging Rock State Park.

October:

Nada… still missing racing, but now becoming used to it 🙁

November:

11/8/2020: Spruce Knob, WV (highpoint #9)

11/9/2020: Via Ferrata at Nelson Rocks, WV, and Backbone Mountain, MD (highpoint #10)

11/10/2020: Mount Davis, PA

December:

Nothing…

Next year I want to climb some big mountains and run the Berlin marathon, so I hope that I have built enough of a base to get really strong and fit from here. I know I need to keep doing my hip mobility and strengthening exercises. I haven’t written down any formal goals yet, but hope to do that soon. I also hope to continue sharing my love of the outdoors with my family 🙂

What are some of your goals for 2021?

The best run of 2020: a virtual 10K.

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