Happy New Year! Is anyone else feeling cautiously optimistic about 2022–emphasis on the cautiously?
Deborah and I will be hosting the first coffee date of 2022 on Friday. We hope to see you there.
Looking Back on 2021
No first post of January would be complete without a look-back at the last year. I’m glad I took a screenshot of my Garmin running data on December 31, because I couldn’t pull up the same graphic on January 1st. I ended the year at 970 miles. I’m sure I would have surpassed 1000 if not for my Achilles—or maybe another injury would have slowed me down.
I probably should not have been
running that much in March, April, May, and June ,,,
Ride With GPS tracked 989 miles on my bike, but I know that 0 for November is wrong, so I checked the Garmin Connect website for a more complete picture. That had me at 1147 outdoor cycling miles for the year. If I’d thought to check that data earlier in December, I might have gone for a lap around my neighborhood to round up to 1150 miles. 😉
Not sure why the data is incomplete?
While I was logged in, I checked my indoor cycling stats on the Garmin Connect website, and saw that I logged nearly 85 hours on my Schwinn IC4 (84:52) over 121 rides (counting any Peloton classes I stacked together as one ride). It’s definitely grown on me. 🙂
I forgot to screenshot my total annual Peloton minutes, but I passed the 20,000 minute mark—and earned that 20K badge—early in December. If anyone wants to try a 60-day free trial, let me know!
Happy New Year 2022!
If my cautiously optimistic mindset sounds familiar, it might be because I set it as my word (phrase?) for 2021. My hopes for a strong year were dashed when I fractured my rib and my hand a few weeks later, and then I was plagued by my Achilles for most of the rest of the year. I know the persistence of the pandemic is taking a toll on all of us, so I can’t be the only one clamoring for a do-over, am I?
Of course, 2021 wasn’t all bad. The highlight of the year was my son’s “wedding,” That amazing weekend was made possible by the coronavirus vaccines—and good timing between variants.
I’ve also made more connections in this corner of the blogosphere, although I’m struggling to keep up with everyone now that Bloglovin’ isn’t fully functional anymore.
Looking ahead to 2022, I don’t have any major life events on the calendar, but my husband is toying with the idea of retiring. 😀 I’ve set a loose goal to run 1000 miles this year, but my main goal is to stay active with a mix of activities I enjoy. I plan to keep fitness fun, with the understanding that I may have to choose workouts that don’t feel like Disneyland in the moment (to borrow a saying from Jess Sims) in order to feel good doing hard things—like cycling in the Shenandoah.
Weekly Wrap
I ended 2021 with more running than usual. For some reason with family visiting it felt more natural to go out for a run than down to my basement for a workout, even though my kids didn’t get up until long after I’d had my post-workout shower. 😉
Monday: 20 min core + 6.85 Scooby Miles + 10 min stretch
Coldest run of the week and first dog attack—by the same golden retriever that attacked us last winter. This time it was scarier because the owners were not out—or even awake judging by the dark house. I yelled at the dog sharply enough to stop it in its tracks and after a few attempts at walking away without it charging at us again, it eventually retreated.
Neither of us were hurt in the encounter.
Tuesday: 30 min strength + 35 min ride + 5 min stretch
I didn’t have any podcasts queued up, so I listed to Chase Tucker while I took Scooby for a walk. We weren’t attacked, but I was annoyed by the neighbor nonchalantly walking her dog, coffee mug in hand with loose leash dragging on the ground. Even after I nicely called out, “Can you please take hold of your dog?” she let it cross the street to us, rudely asking, “Can’t they just say hello?” At that point her dog already had reached us, and they cavorted around me until she caught up. At least this time I was the only one growling (silently).
Wednesday: 5 min core + 4.15 Scooby Miles + 20 min strength for runners
Finally an uneventful outing with Scooby, staying close to home, wearing the Richmond Half shirt I didn’t earn but paid for.
That one foggy lens!
Thursday: 5 min core + 4 treadmill miles + 10 min stretch
It was rainy, and I hadn’t done a tread bootcamp in ages, and this one sounded like a good one. There were a lot of switches and the strength sections got off to a slow start, but I give Andy props for the “guns and rows” (bicep curls and bent-over rows) combination to fit the theme. I chose the AC/DC warm-up run to put me in the right mood.
Friday (NYE): 4 Scooby Miles + 20 min strength for runners
It was shorts and t-shirt weather for the last run of 2021, and the second dog attack of the week. This time it was our next-door neighbor’s terrier, whom they had off-leash at the field in our neighborhood They were horrified and apologized profusely when he saw Scooby from afar and came charging at us barking fiercely.
As usual, Scooby was a good dog,
dodging the attacker but not fighting back.
Saturday (NYD): 10 min core + 30 min strength + 40 min ride
Another rainy day, but I knew I shouldn’t run again anyway. I had bookmarked Matty’s Wicked class, but I didn’t like it much. There were some cute moves tied to show themes, but way too much down time while he chatted about the show between sets. Maybe that was for the best because Hannah F’s New Year ride was plenty challenging—and even warranted a cool down ride.
Sunday: 10 min Core + 3.75 Scooby Miles
I squeezed in a run before church, and this time it was Scooby doing the chasing—of a fox, up our hill, right after I had crossed the invisible finish line of my run. The fox dashed into a neighbor’s yard, so I only had to sprint for a few strides.
Yep, t-shirt weather again.
I plan to do a Peloton yoga class later, and might even get on my bike if the roads dry up. This 60-degree weather will be gone after today.
Update — We had a great bike ride in shorts!
A huge thank you to Deborah and Kim for hosting the Weekly Run Down link up.
How do you keep up with all the blogs you follow?
How many sites track your activity data?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
Love that family wedding pic! As I took time to reflect on my year personally, it wasn’t bad. There’s so much violence and crime right now, layered on top of the pandemic it’s all a lot to take, but personally it’s been a decent year for my family and I.
You did great on your miles despite some setbacks! I think Andy Speer is one of my Pelo faves so far!
It’s a struggle to find a balance between being grateful for the good in your personal life and figuring out how to improve/alleviate the bad going on elsewhere, and to keep in mind that the 24/7-global-click-bait-news cycle focuses on the bad, when there is a lot of good too.
Wow. Those peleton minutes. I’m in awe.
What a nice family photo.
Shorts. I’ll take that. We had 50 degrees yesterday.
I’m with you on being optimistic. Can it get worse? hopefully not.
Happy New year. Hope you have a healthy 2022.
Let’s not tempt it!
Ok, Coco, I just had a total face palm moment. I have not thought of doing any of the running warm-up classes (#duh), so thanks for that reminder. I get really annoyed at dog owners who think there “little sweetie” will be just as friendly to other dogs and humans as they are to their immediate family members. UGH. Just leash-up, people! ((rant over)). Happy ’22 to you!
I don’t take the warm-ups often, but that are good when I want “one more mile” than the class I’ve picked.
Oh no on all the dog interactions! I truly despise inattentive, rude dog owners. We’ve been very lucky to have never have an actual attack, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t danced around with a lot of dogs — especially challenging when there’s 2 dogs on your leash!
I have a LOT of sites that track my activity, but most I don’t even look at — they’re all connected to Garmin Connect anyway.
I have sadly come to the conclusion that COVID is the new flu, and will be around most every Winter, but hopefully less deadly like the Omicron variant.
Ok, here’s something I never revealed before because my husband didn’t want me to: he was forcibly retired a few years ago. He’s almost come to grips with it now, which is why I can mention it. He’s done a little contracting since.
So that was just one of the very stressful things a few years back (followed by a health dx that wasn’t great either). I keep telling him it was really a gift in hindsight, even though it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time. And that he also needs to move more. 🙂
Oh, that’s so hard about your husband. One of my clients was downsized, and it really shook me. My job is as secure as my client base, which means not very, since anything can happen at any time. I try not to think about it!
This was not at all expected & a huge shock. I know other men (one of our neighbors, in fact) that that happened to at the same time. Fingers crossed your job is safe, Coco!
It sort of happened to me a long time ago. I was technically a contractor but the parent company started to basically force a lot of the people who’d been there since the beginning out. Life can be really strange at times!
So are you keeping “cautiously optimistic” as your phrase for 2022? Yes, I think we all want a do-over.
You actually had a great year in spite of the injuries. I really do think 2022 is going to be better, for all of us.
I sure hope so, so I think 2022 needs it’s own word. I know the sentiment I want it to reflect, but I haven’t figured out the right word yet.
I mostly use Strava to track everything bc Peloton pushes to it. I also double check on Garmin. I am going to have that 1000 mile goal this year and see how it goes. I was really close this year. Way to finish the year strong with both cycling and runnng.
I think 1000 is very doable for you. When I was doing 8 milers on the weekend I was easily on track. Training for a March Half should get you going on your way.
I don’t want a do-over, just a ‘can we move forward, please”. I’m so over this virus, I can’t even bear it. Thank goodness for running and everything else!
I’m so glad Scooby didn’t retaliate–he looks like he could take any dog that approaches him. I don’t understand some dog owners at all. Cocoa doesn’t like any other dogs, so I keep her close when we are walking.
Scooby looks fierce but he’s not usually the aggressor. When loose dogs come at us, he usually freezes while they sniff him out or tries to retreat if they’re not friendly.
Oh, so sorry to you and Scooby about the bad dog owners. There’s no bad dogs, only bad dog owners. Scary and puts you in a tough situation as I know you love dogs, but that doesn’t help! Argh.
Anyways, sorry about some of the tough stuff this year. I’m cautiously optimistic about 2022 as well…fingers crossed!
That is so true about the owners! It is really scary when there is no owner in sight — I am helpless!
It’s been a year, for sure. I’m also cautious with a little bit of optimism.
You know I love dogs, but I think they should be leashed, for sure. I’m sorry your neighbor wasn’t being a good owner.
We certainly have a leash law, but some people think their dog is too special for that. 😉
Ugh what is with the bad dog owners!?! Glad you and Scooby were ok.
You had great mileage for 2021 despite your injury! And, yay for all the cycling miles! I wish Peloton played nice with Garmin Connect – I’d love to see my indoor cycling stats.
I am definitely approaching 2022 with cautious optimism. On a personal/family level there was a lot of good this year and I’m hopeful for what’s to come.
Happy New Year Coco!
2021 certainly had its good times — hopefully those are what will stand out when we look back on these days.
You had some amazing year end stats for 2021 – nice job!
I don’t have a word yet for 2022, but right now I’m focusing on monthly goals and keeping my commitment to fitness.
Happy New Year!
I am much better at setting short term goals than long term goals.
You got some good mileage in last year. Congrats!
Good for Scooby for tolerating and not retaliating when the other not-so-friendly dogs came charging at him.
Wow on all of the dog interactions this week! Just one dog barking at me is enough to make me fear every dog around. I’m glad your dog reacts so well! I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want my retirement to look like. I’d still like the challenge of doing contract work. My husband is retired and some days I really think he needs a hobby. LOL! 😉 Happy New Year!