What was your surprise accomplishment in 2019?!

I started running! I started C25K in July and kind of fizzled out by September because I bought a house but after moving I kept running intervals. I never managed to run more than 5 minutes without a walk break but I've never liked running so even doing 5 minutes at a time is a big thing for me. In December I started C25K over again with a goal of actually finishing it.

I started riding grass track events and became regional champion. Admittedly I was the only entrant in my category, but you can only beat who turns up to be fair, it’s a fairly daunting type of racing to get into if you didn’t start as a kid (no brakes!) so giving it a go is an achievement in itself.

Less of a surprise was a 100 mile TT as it was my target for the season, but pleased to get under 5 hours and finish 12th in a national championship.

I was diagnosed with an arrhythmia type heart condition (Long QT syndrome) in April 2019, and put on a beta blocker for life. My doctor warned me to take caution while running, and to limit it to a certain speed and distance. The beta blocker greatly affected my ability to run comfortably (it prevents your heart rate from going as high as usual), and I was pretty bummed about it for several months. I felt like if I lost some of the weight I had gained in the past 1-1.5 years, maybe I would feel better running. So in September I made some sustainable changes to my diet, and I’ve lost almost 20 lbs. Yes, running feels much better, even on the beta blocker! In November, halfway through the weight loss, I did a much-anticipated 10K with family (with my doctor’s approval as long as I didn’t overdo it), and smashed my previous years’ times.

I do wonder sometimes how well I could be running at this point if I hadn’t been diagnosed, but I’m also thankful to still be running, and in fact I think the diagnosis has helped motivate me to lose weight and stay active.

I had all kinds of goals for 2019. I was going to focus on speed early in the year for a March race, train like a madwoman for a hilly half at elevation in the fall and stop with the crazy schedule of long races - just have some fun and enjoy experiences. Aka do epic *kitten*.

LOL.

I got manflu/plague early in the year, and absolutely smashed my leg in a trail race in June (some parts are still numb today). Training plans? LOL. Nearly nonexistent until about September.

I ran the 2 mile march race anyway. In a green tutu, leprechaun cat leggings and a Viking helmet. Finished 10 seconds off my PR.

I set off for the half at the end of September on 4-ish weeks of training. I live at sea level. The race was hilly and at elevation (5-6k ft). I did not really expect to finish. It was my second fastest half.

I then tromped around the Canadian Rockies for a week before flying out to Moab to do another half (15 days after the other). Then tromped around Moab for a week.

Bottom line from all this-I ran some of my fastest races ever on almost no training. Certainly nothing done to maximize performance in either. I ran one in costume. I ran 2 half’s in 2 weeks on almost no training. To say those results were unexpected would be a massive understatement. Evidently-my PR’s are very soft.

Im sometimes surprised by how well I do in a race. But never like this.

So this year, assuming no illness/injury (LOL), I’ve amended my “do epic *kitten*” goal to include “train for a race and see what I can actually do”