Mid-Year Summary

It's now July, just past the halfway mark for the year. It's a good time to look at what I've done so far this year and see if I'm moving in the right direction.

Through the end of June, I had done something "physical" on just over 70% of the days in the year:

CrossFit: 53 times

Skiing: 32 days

Lifting: 15 days (excluding CrossFit)

Running: 38 runs totaling a measly 150 miles

Cycling: 23 days totaling 263 miles, most of that bike commuting

So, what has that effort done for me?

First of all, one of those skiing days resulted in a hard fall that caused a significant shoulder injury. That has limited my lifting at times, but I am slowly getting better, with assistance from medical professionals.

Am I more fit than I was six months ago? This one is easy. I am absolutely more fit. My endurance is better, I've set some PRs in the power lifts, and my workouts validate the fact that I'm in better shape than six months ago.

How am I doing with losing excess body fat? I've also made progress here. I am about 15 pounds lighter than I was at the start of the year, and I'm sure I've added some muscle mass, so my fat loss is in excess of 15 pounds. To be honest, I'd like to be another 25 pounds lighter and I'm working on that.

So, what's ahead for the second half of the year? I am scheduled to run a marathon next weekend, and with only 150 running miles so far this year, it will be a challenge. But, I think I'm fit enough to get through the race.

I am entered (for the 4th time in 5 years) in the 100 on 100 relay in August - a 6-person, 100-mile relay. I won't be really fast, but I will get through my miles OK.

I might do a trail ultra at the end of this month, a very difficult 34 miler in the mountains of NH. I'm leaning away from doing this one, to be honest, because I'm probably not really ready for this amount of time on my feet. I'm guessing it would be 16-18 hours, and my longest day so far this year is 6 hours.

After these events, I'm not sure if I'll do any more running events or not.

As winter approaches, my focus will be on getting into the physical shape I need to be in to tackle a ski instructor certification exam - my PSIA Level 3, part 1 exam, which focuses on skiing ability. That test is my primary goal for next winter.

I'm guessing that my focus for the second half of the year will continue to be CrossFit, fat loss, and having fun with my workouts. That means some running, hiking, power lifting, cycling, etc., as I feel like it. But, CrossFit and eating well will be the primary focal points.