2020 Year in Review

October through December saw a flurry of huge milestones and various activities / commitments to juggle:

  • I got married!

  • I bought my first house!

    • Set up a small garage gym (more on this later!) with barbell, bumper plates, DIY deadlift platform, rings, landmine attachment, etc.

  • My wife and I adopted a puppy from the Baltimore Humane Society

It was a lot to manage, but there is much to be thankful for as we turn the corner to a New Year, 2021.

School, work, and the home-front made for a busy schedule, but here are the final stats for October-December, and my cumulative numbers for 2020, thanks to Strava:

Overall 2020 Results:

  • 240 Total Active Days

    • Most active day of the week: Sunday

    • Most active time of the day: 8:00-9:00 pm

  • 266.9 Hours of Training (~0.7 hours/day [44 minutes])

  • 1,161.1 Miles of Running (~3.18 miles/day)

  • 87,421 ft Total Elevation Gain

  • Longest Activity: Burning River 100 Miler (29:27:22)

  • Set Two Course Records on Strava

December 2020:

  • 15.4 hours of training (~0.5 hours/day [29 minutes])

  • 46.3 miles of running (~1.54 miles/day)

  • 23 activities:

    • 19 runs

    • 2 boxing sessions

    • 2 work-outs

November 2020:

  • 8.0 hours of training (~0.3 hours/day [16 minutes])

  • 49.0 miles of running (~1.63 miles/day)

  • 13 activities:

    • 12 runs

    • 1 weight-lifting session

October 2020:

  • 14.8 hours of training (~0.48 hours/day [29 minutes])

  • 58.3 miles of running (~1.88 miles/day)

  • 20 activities:

    • 11 runs

    • 9 weight-lifting sessions

September 2020:

  • 20.9 hours of training (~0.7 hours/day [42 minutes])

  • 46.3 miles of running (~1.54 miles/day)

  • 33 activities:

    • 11 runs

    • 5 yoga sessions

    • 2 work-outs

    • 1 hike (6.0 miles; 2:44 hrs)

    • 14 weight-lifting sessions

…

Health and Fitness Goals for 2021:

  • Strength Train / Lift At Least Twice a Week

    • Get to 400 lb Deadlift

  • Massage or Foam Roll At Least Three Times a Week

  • Box At Least Once a Week

  • Hike or Ruck At Least Once a Week

  • Do Yoga or Meditate At Least Four Times a Week

  • Have Eggs of Protein Shake At Least Six Times a Week

    • Need that protein for muscle recovery!

  • Run At Least One 100 Miler

  • Run At Least One Marathon in a New State

    • Life goal to run a marathon in every state!

I’m tracking all of these using the Done Premium app on my iPhone. So far, better at meeting some goals than others, but keeping myself accountable!


Race Across the USA (Virtual 1000 Miler)

As an ultrarunner, I have a slight (read: heavy) addiction to stalking UltraSignup and constantly scoping out possible races and marathon/ultramarathon schedules…I discovered a few virtual ultramarathon races with Destination Trail Run — the fine organizers of 200+ mile races such as Bigfoot 200 (attempted in 2018! DNF at 133 miles), Tahoe 200, and Moab 240.

In particular, I noticed there was a “Race Across the USA” virtual run, in which entrants can either register to run 1000 miles or 2572 miles (distance from San Francisco to New York), either solo or as a team…over the time frame of June 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021.

Since I’m slightly behind on my Strava goal of running 1500 miles in 2020 (have run 416 miles thus far in 2020, as of May 31st), I figured signing to get a cool 1000 mile belt buckle would be a good incentive to sustain my needed mileage throughout the rest of the year — about 33 miles per week, to be exact.

Although I’m also attempting to maintain and gain a bit of strength through ring workouts in the park and weighted sandbag sessions (cleans, front squats, deadlifts), running ~30-35 miles a week shouldn’t preclude the ability to also keep some strength.

Look forward to receiving the unique buckle, as can be seen below, after running 1000 miles!

Run or bike across the USA — relay or solo (virtually); can cover 2572 mile or 1000 mile distance, from June 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021: register here!

Race / Event Schedule for 2020