A Look Back at 2012 (Racing and Life)

This year has been kind generous gracious, nay spectacular, to me.  Hold up!  Scratch that!

I rocked this year!!

I'm sorry.  I'm usually not pompous, nor do I ever have a big ego, but I feel I have the right this time around.  This year rocked and I'm going to enjoy this look back!!

The Chinese calendar says that 2012 was the Year of the Dragon.  Either it was a rather speedy dragon or I'm going to rename it the Year of PRs.  Let's go through it, shall we?

At the end of 2011, I picked up my very first triathlon bike!  So 2012 was her first year.  We've enjoyed our first year together quite a bit!

My Wife, the Felt S22

I started out the year with the Leprechaun 5-Miler.  I had never run a 5-Miler, so it was an automatic PR.  But on top of that, I ran a faster pace in that race than my 5k PR.  Admittedly, that 5k PR has needed to be wiped out for awhile, but I don't run them often at all unless you count sprint tris. 

Then the tri season began with a BANG!  I PR'd at the first Lake T Sprint taking 9 minutes off my best time which was from 2010. NINE whole minutes. 

Then came my first A race of the season, the Rev3 Quassy Half Rev.  It wasn't the performance that I had hoped for and I have a LOT to make up for on nutrition (especially after going half the bike with only water), but I still PR'd.  And for those who don't know, Rev3 Quassy is a VERY hilly course!

Me, Dave, and Billy at the Rev3 Finisher's Chute

Then it was back to the sprints!  Lake T Sprint No.2 came with a third PR for the season.  Another three minutes off of my PR.  And I picked up a "sponsor" from my local bike shop with my new tri suit!

I was easy to spot in the 2nd half of my season!

Then onto my redemption at the Litchfield Hills Olympic triathlon.  This race kicked my ASS in 2010, so I wanted to rock it!  I PR'd by roughly 23 minutes and took 2nd in my Age Group.  Take that New Hartford hills!!

Post-race at Litchfield.  They have the best post-race pie!

I skipped the next Lake T Sprint - still don't recall exactly why - but I was back for Lake T Sprint No.4 and it was the best of the year because I broke the 1 hour mark.  I still remember jumping for joy at the finish line!  PR #6 of the year!!

At this point, I was in training for the B2B Ironman, so I didn't do much but I had two more Lake T Sprints.  Lake T Sprint No.5 was PR #7, but Lake T Sprint No.6 I did as a relay because of extremely tight calves.  While I'd like to say that that one doesn't count towards or against the PR streak, I swam and biked slower than my PR, so I have to count it against me. 

My final triathlon before the attempt at the Ironman distance was the Lake T Olympic.  Due to a very foggy lake and road construction causing the bike course to change three times the week prior to race day, the swim and bike were a bit short.  Ok, the swim was VERY short.  So it was an easy PR, but I can't count it due to the distance differences.  But I took 1st in my Age Group and quite enjoyed seeing our little local race start to expand!

This was the lake on race morning.  You couldn't even see the ORANGE turn buoy until you were half way out.

It was a month until I raced again, this time another road race; the Hogsback Half Marathon.  And who can say "no" to a $25 half marathon?!  My PR at this distance has been in need of being taken down for awhile, but I did even better than I expected.  I PR'd by 8 minutes. 

Felt like I could have kept going for at least a couple more miles!

Then came the shining moment of 2012.  Crossing the finish line of the Beach 2 Battleship triathlon.

This was the whole point of this blog; becoming an Ironman.  I could spend hours nit-picking my race day, but overall I don't regret one moment of it.  I made it to the finish, I did it without injury, and I did it in a very respectable time (which is of course, and automatic PR).  Mission Accomplished!

In the end, if you discredit my Lake T relay and the Lake T Olympic, I PR'd at every race this year! 

9 PR's for the season!

But the races weren't everything for the year.  I made some big steps in my career too.  In June, I got certified by RRCA as a running coach.

Following up with that, I got my first job as a running coach in September coaching the Liver Life Challenge Team.  It's a group through the American Liver Foundation that is training for the Half Marathon, Full Marathon, and Goofy Challenge in Disney in January.  We are just under two weeks from race day and it has been an absolute pleasure and learning experience running with and coaching these amazing people!

I also - finally - got my personal trainer certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). 

License to Torture!!  =P

In other, less athletic feats of accomplishment, I took my current job in March, Class Coach.  I am essentially a fitness trainer and could not be happier doing what I do.  Every day I find a new reason to love my life through this job.  I may not make a whole lot, but I wake up and go to bed happy and for now, that's all that matters. 

These ladies call themselves "Kurt's Crew" and even had shirts made.  God I love my job!

I made my first car purchase, a Honda Fit Sport.  I'll tell ya, that was not a pleasant experience and I hope to not have to repeat it for another 6-8 years.  In the end, I will probably NEVER buy a car from a dealer.  Horrible experiences all around.  Hence why I went private sale on a used car.

I also finished what has stretched on to be a 4 year project of building my own custom bookcase.

I can only work on it while I'm home and Xmas was the first time in 2 years that I had made the trip, so I was dead set on finishing it while I had the chance.  It turned out AWESOME. 

It's been a great year in every way.  I only got sick once the whole year.  My body and mind allowed me to go further than I had hoped with my racing.  I am beyond happy with what I do for work.  And while a lot of things have been put on hold for my own athletic and professional pursuits, I'm ok with it.  As long as my life keeps making me smile and I can look at my past with pride, I'm on the right path.

Feel free to agree or disagree.  It's your own perogative.  But I still say...

I rocked this year!!

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Questions
1.  What did you accomplish in 2012?
Go right ahead and brag!!!  What was your big PR?  What did you finish that makes YOU proud?

2.  Are you happy with what 2012 brought?  
I missed a number of goals that I had set (more on that in the next post), but I can't complain or regret them at all.  

3.  Do you have plans for 2013 that are going to top 2012?
I'll be posting my 2013 plans soon.  I'm quite excited.


Dream.  Believe.  Achieve.