Quick 2017 Review & Photo Recap

As I am sitting here on my couch with the flu for the past few days wishing I was out playing in the hills I thought I would get this put together and out there.  This year started out strong with trips to HI, CA, Boston, AZ, and Bolivia.  After Bolivia it was pretty much downhill from there, I just got burned out.  For someone who historically has not traveled that much, this year was huge on that front.  If you don't remember in last year's review I shared that Ashley and I got divorced.  Well in the 10 years we were together she did all the traveling with her friends and family while I stayed home to take care of the house, kid and pets.  I think this year as an over compensation to make up for it a bit.  Either way it was much needed and I am thankful for all the friends and memories from these trips.  Anyways let's start the break down of the year with training and racing.

Training: Not my biggest year by far in the running mileage but the overall time is still up.  Trying to fit in different activities takes away from the jogging which everyone know is what truly makes me happy.  The bike was a non-factor this year and I did add in some skiing and increased the time in the weight room dramatically.    Here is how 2017 breaks down.

How does that compare to the past years?  Well this is an interesting view.  Now you can see what I mean by total hours still being up.  Three big years in a row, can the trend continue? Being a single guy with nothing better to do, I see the trend continuing.  This is comparing the last 10 years in total hours.

Races:
Solid year in the racing department for the most part but the ongoing joke in the GOMs is this was "Shad's Year of Mediocrity" with doing so many different things and not really focusing on one race like last year.  You can go back and read all the race reports on the year, I am not going to get into them all here.   Anyways here is the list of all the organized races and/or events from the year.  Lots of great times and memories this year, I look back at this list and it just brings a smile from ear to ear.  Of course the smile got even bigger when I started digging through all the photos on my phone (at the end of the post).  Damn, what a fun year it was and I am honored to have so many great friends.

2017 Races/Events

• Backpack Kalalau Trail 1/2 (A must do for everyone)
• Hurt 100 1/14 (30:58:27)
• Antelope Canyon Half 2/25 (1:23:40)
• Salida Half 3/18 (1:50:55)
• Grand Traverse 40mile Ski 3/24 (15:39:24 with Rebecca)
• Crossfit Open Feb/March (Good times!)
• Boston Marathon 4/17 (3:10:19)
• Miwok 100K 5/6 (12:16:14)
• Bolder Boulder 10K 5/29 (45:38 w/ 20lb weight vest)
• Boliva Huayna Potosi 6/16-6/23 (Summit!!!)
• Pace Donnie at Hardrock 7/14 (Good times!)
• Eldora Trail 10K 8/5 (48:50)
• Pace Clyde at Leadville 100 (Good times!!!)
• Suffer Better Trail 10K 9/9 (57:36)
• Harlow Platt CX 9/10 (7.66 miles/ 6 laps- Cyclocross)
• Primalpalooza CX  10/1 (7.54miles/4 laps- Cyclocross)
• Interlocken CX 10/7 (8.95miles/6 laps- Cyclocross)
• Festivus Games 10/14 (With Terry Miller, good times!)
• Louisville Turkey Trot 5K 11/23 (18:25)
• 5th Annual Solstice Grog Slog 12/17 (Good Times!

Books:  
Got in weak 23 books this year.  Of course a bunch of them were zombie apocalypse themed books again.  Not sure where my book list will go this year.  Just been a struggle to get my butt to read at night, I am so tired I fall asleep super quickly anymore.  

2017 Books Read
1. Hell or High Water: Surviving the Tibet's Tsangpo River 
2. Discover Your True North*
3. Extreme Ownership*
4. Road to Sparta*
5. Mastering The Zone
6. What Doesn't Kill Us*
7. Ego is the Enemy*
8. Maximus Body*
9. Exposed Tragedy & Triumph in Mountain Climbing*
10. Mountain Madness*
11. Alone on the Wall*
12. No Barriers: A Blind Man's Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon*
13. Bolivia: A Climbing Guide
14. Way of the Warrior Kid*
15. Abyss- Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse*
16. War Buds: Under Attack*
17. War Buds 2: On Alert*
18. War Buds 3: Overcome*
19. The Operator: Firing the Shot that Killed Osama*
20. Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual*
21. Unbreakable Runner* (Re-Read)
22. Arisen Book 13- The Siege*
23. Arisen Book 14- EndGame*

Review of Goals for 2017: This year was a hit or miss year on goals.
1. Finish or be super close to finishing the 14ers (6 left)- Completed
2. Leadville 100 MTB if I make it through the lottery- Did not make it through the lottery
3. Go outside the lower 48 states- HI and Bolivia
4. Read at least 30 books- Nope, see above
5. Over 2,000 miles running and 3,000 miles biking- Biking fell off big time this year
6. Travel somewhere new for a race that I have never been- Hurt 100, Miwok, AZ
7. Sky Dive- nope, cancelled due to weather, rolled into 2018
8.  Use my passport to leave the country- Bolivia
9. Attend at least one concert- Guns N Roses at Mile High
10. Be an active member on the MTB team I am on this year doing at least 4 MTB races- Started the year strong but fell off as the running took it's toll.  No MTB races this year, only a couple of cyclocross.
 
Now on to some loose top 10 goals for 2018
1. Re-qualify for the Hardrock lottery
2. Re-qualify for Western States lottery
3. Travel somewhere new for a race
4. Attend at least one concert
5. Read at least 30 books
6. Sky Dive
7. Leave the lower 48 states
8. Keep the Blog more updated
9. Throw my hat into donkey racing
10. Backpacking on the Colorado trail

HAPPY NEW YEARS AND MAY 2018 BE YOUR BEST YET!
Year in Photos

Boulder Ice plunge group

Kalalau Trail Campsite

Kalalau Trail

Hurt 100

Moab with Andy

Lake Powell in AZ

Star Pass during the Grand Traverse

Grand Traverse with Rebecca, 40 mile ski race

Boston Marathon

Miwok 100K trail run in CA

Some small Redwood tree in CA

Miwok 100K course views

Trail running in Fruita CO

Mountain Biking in Fruita CO

Murph workout at NoCoast

Gray/Torrys via Dead Rat with Bob

Huayna Potosi climb in Bolivia

Huayna Potosi in Bolivia

Sis and the kids at Don's funeral

Donkey love up at the compound

Pacing/Crewing Donnie at Hardrock

Donnie finishing Hardrock

Guns N Roses

Pacing/Crewing Clyde at Leadville

Train ride to Chicago Basin

Chicago Basin at sunrise

Mount Wilson

Bob joining me as I finished the 14ers on San Luis

Cyclocross love

Crossfit Comp with Terry Miller

Sucking at the gym

Stop #1 during Solstice Run

Council of Elders for the Solstice Run

Here is to another year of adventures!

Merry Christmas

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  May your eggnog flow freely today and your Christmas meal be extra special.  A little something I came across a few days ago that hit a chord with me.  I am grateful for you all and looking forward to a great 2018.

An excerpt from The Book Of Bobby Maximus (Verse 5, Chapter 30):

The holidays can be a difficult time for people. There's pressure to provide presents and gifts. We are bombarded by images of "the perfect Christmas" and other people's seemingly perfect lives. There are a lot of us who try to live up to an unrealistic expectation of the holiday. We try too hard to make Christmas "perfect".

Because of these expectations it can be a time of stress and sadness for some out there.

It's important during Christmas to remember what it is really all about. Christmas isn't about the gifts we receive, it's not about how much money we spend, its not about finding someone the perfect present, it's not about how good our dinner is, and it's not about a tree or lights. Christmas is much more than all these things. Christmas is a feeling. It stands for love and gratefulness. It stands for hope and compassion. It's easy to complain at Christmas: "I wish I had more family here", "the turkey was dry", "I didn't get what I wanted for Christmas", "it's just not the same as when I was a kid".

At Christmas don't focus on the negative. Remember to enjoy the things that really matter. If you have a roof over your head, a blanket to stay warm, and even just one person to share it with you are blessed.

There are so many people in this world less fortunate than us.  Christmas is what you make of it. It's the love you put into it. Christmas doesn't come in a store.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Festivus Games

Since getting poked at in a group email a few days ago with the statement, "Thought Shad only does Crossfit now"  it reminded me that I needed to get this post and photos up before I forgot about.  Gotta love my friends for reminding me.

Anyways once a year I try to do something that is way out of my comfort zone just to test myself a little and this year it was the Festivus Games.  Festivus Games is a Crossfit knock off where they hold the competition at gyms all across the country at the same time and you get ranked nationally at the end.  It also requires that you have a partner.  There were 2 gyms in Colorado that were offering the competition, one in Broomfield and one in Castle Rock.  Broomfield was sold out so down to Castle Rock it was.  Since it was in Castle Rock I was unsuccessful in getting anyone from my gym to be my partner but was able to recruit running buddy Terry Miller to join me and we had a blast.

There are 4 required WODs (Workout of the Day) that you have to complete over the course of the day.  Needless to say it was a little bit of a sufferfest but I did hit a personal best in the deadlift.  The workouts are listed below.  Terry and I ended up in the middle of the pack ranking wise at the end of the day both locally and nationally which is not bad for a couple of runners who lift on the side.

Thanks for joining me Terry, it was a good time.

WOD 1
9-Minute AMRAP

3 Minutes
- Box Jumps 24"
- Partner Holds Front Rack 95lbs

3 Minutes
- Pull-ups
- Partner Holds Tricep-extension On Box

3 Minutes
- Shoulder-to-overhead (same weight as above)
- Partner Holds Bar Hang

WOD2
5-Reps At 8-Stations EMOM Deadlift Ladder
Male Intermediate
145, 165, 205, 245, 285, 325, 345, 365

8 bars will be pre-loaded and ready to go. On 3-2-1-Go! you and your partner will approach the first bar and, within 1 minute, one at a time, you will BOTH deadlift it for 5 consecutive reps each.

WOD3
With a 10-Minute Running Clock

PART 1

- 60 Row-Over Burpees
- While Your Partner Does Single Unders (SU)
Partners must switch if the rope jumper stops or misses.

PART 2
- Calorie Row
- While Your Partner Does Wall Balls
Partners must switch if the ball hits the ground.

WOD4
With a 4-Minute Time Cap
2 Rounds for Time

- 20 Dumbbell Reverse Lunges (10/leg, 35lbs each hand)
- Partner Wheelbarrow Walk 7 yards
- 20 Dumbbell Cleans (35lbs each hand)
- Partner Wheelbarrow Walk 7 yards
Athletes decide who does what. It doesn't matter as long as the work gets done.


All of the photos below were taken by Clyde when he stopped by to watch Terry and I do WOD3 from above.

Cyclocross update

So it seems I just can not get into it this year like I have the past 2 years.  I have been averaging 15 Cyclocross races each of the past 2 years in the Fall but this year after the second one I decided to hang them up for the year.  Just not into it and really can not figure out why.  I have fun but just have no competitive drive this year on the bike for some reason.  If I am not going to try and be competitive then I am not going to spend the $.  There are other ways that I can have "fun" without dropping the cash to do so.  All I seem to want to do right now is jog around, lift heavy, and throw in a metcon now and again.  Since that makes me happy, that is what I am going to do.

So with that said here are some photos I collected from the 2 races I did taken by either B. Trammell or other friends.  Always a good time and I will get back to this next year.