I haven’t blogged a whole lot this year, but it’s Year in Review time!
2014 was a very good year, my first full year as an Oregonian (which I can call myself now) and 2015 is going to start with a bang, but I’ll get to that later.
Fitness:
Well, fitness kind of took a back seat this year, but that’s something Lisa and I are working very hard to fix. Since before Thanksgiving we’ve ramped our workout routine back to 4-5 days a week and are being better about what we eat. Summer was a blur with planning and executing the wedding and things got set aside. I’ve “lost” about 10 pounds over the course of the year, but in reality I’ve yo-yo’d up and down by a good 30 pounds several times. Right now the better exercise routine has stabilized that and I’ve held the same weight for a couple months but it’s not moving down again quite yet. Hopefully that will come in the new year, and not in a resolution type way, more in a “change of schedule” type way.
Races:
Well, we didn’t have a lot going on race wise this year, especially in the second half of the year but we still managed to complete three more half marathons. January 1st saw us ringing in the New Year with another 5K, this time in Portland. The Portland “First Run” which starts at midnight just like the Tanglewood race and then circles the waterfront and crosses a couple bridges in true Portland fashion. In March I participated in a much beloved Portland institution, the Shamrock run. Lisa wasn’t able to join me for this one, but I was itching for a medium sized race, longer than a 5K but less than a half. I originally signed up for the 15K (9Miles) but ended up dropping to the 8K(five miles). It was great fun and I hope both of us can do it in 2015. Our last organized races of the season were a 3 in 62 days set of Half Marathons designed to qualify Lisa for the Half Fanatics. We started with the Oregon Spring Half on May 3rd. This was an interesting race for both good and bad reasons. On doctors orders I wasn’t allowed to run long distances for this race, so I devised a run/walk method to allow me to complete the race safely. Lisa and I ran together for the first mile, and then after than she took off while I walked 2 miles before my next running mile. About 3/4 of the race (mile 8 or so) I was absolutely sapped of energy. I tried to run my run miles and I just couldn’t. I managed to finish the race with my slowest time ever (getting passed in the last 1/4 mile by a woman with a cane who was BOOKING it!) and then only to get home and discover I had a fever! I didn’t know I was sick before the race. Also, Lisa PR’d this race! Next was the Vancouver USA Half on June 15th. This was a fun race and a great course. Unfortunately I cramped up yet again at around mile 11 and we had to run/walk/limp/shuffle to the finish. We finished with the July 4th Sauvies Island half that I watched Lisa at last year. For this race I can say, well we finished. We ran really well for the first 6 miles or so and then a couple walk breaks stretched into walking a mile stretched into walking all the way to the finish. We were both crashing hard, but we made sure to finish. We may be crazy half marathon runners, but 2 races within 2 weeks was too much for us to handle.
Homebrew:
I picked up a new hobby this year, homebrewing beer! I’ve made 4 batches and the first 3 turned out pretty good. Still waiting on the 4th one, but so far it’s not looking promising. We’ll see how it goes. I got a Mr Beer kit from my sister in law for Christmas and then Lisa immediately encouraged me to jump in with both feet and I started brewing away. She’s biased, but she likes my homemade beer. It’s a lot of fun and I get to geek out with all my food science stuff. I joined a homebrew club as well where I can share that geekiness with others! It’s great. I’ll actually do some writing for the club next year, but whether that will inspire me to start blogging again, or rather eat up all my writing time is yet to be determined.
Travel:
Lisa and I didn’t do as much traveling this year, but we had a couple good memorable trips. We went to San Francisco to visit some of her friends who live down there and that was a whole lot of fun. So much good food and cool sites to visit. Lisa says San Fran is the only place other than Portland she’d ever want to live. We also made our second trip to Seattle for a friends graduation. We only got in one hike this year, but it was a good one. We drove down to Molalla and hiked up to the top of Table Rock. It was an interesting and challenging climb, but the reward was an amazing vista in all directions. Sadly it was too hazy from the wild fires to see very far, but we could faintly make out Mt Hood and Mt St Helens. We went out to the coast for a couple days after the wedding (see below) and that was great and relaxing. As much as you love having your family in town, a week surrounded by 100 people all vying for your attention is pretty insane! Weddings are great but they can be a lot of work!
Life:
Well, of course the big thing this year is Lisa and I got married! We tied the knot on August, 23rd and my whole family made it out from the East coast which was a great thing! She moved into my apartment in SE Portland and now we have a cute, little (emphasis on little!) house together. Things are great and it helps us stay motivated with our exercise and eating now that we are spending more time together.
Future:
Well, as I promised 2015 is starting with a bang! In, oh, about 36 hours from right now Lisa and I will be headed to Disney for our honeymoon! We’re super excited and we both need some time to “unplug” so it will be great. We’re spending 3 days at the Parks and then a 4 night Disney cruise to the Bahamas, so the other great thing (as it dips well below freezing tonight) is that we’re going somewhere warm! We are taking workout clothes with us, and along with a lot of walking at the Parks we’re hoping to get in some kind of workout while we’re on the ship. Elliptical, swimming, something like that. We’re going on a nature hike and then kayaking while we’re on Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, so that will be a decent day’s work.
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