2019

So, 2019 is done then. All told, 269 activities and just over 7,200 minutes of moving about — which sounds impressive until you divide it by 365 and realise it averages out to less than 20 minutes a day. Still, I'll take it. Running was very much the dominant discipline this year, with 131 runs covering 847 kilometres at an average pace of 5:31 per kilometre, which is a marked improvement on where I've been previously and something I'm quietly pleased about. The highlight was probably the Run Gatwick Half Marathon, which gave me a proper target to aim for and, alongside all those indoor miles, helped rack up 172 personal records and 485 achievements on Strava — a number that would mean more if I hadn't questioned exactly what some of them were for.

Compared to 2018, the shift is pretty stark. I rode less — 74 rides against 84, and 350 kilometres versus nearly 395 — but the running almost tripled in both time and distance, which tells its own story about where my head was at this year. I also swam nearly four times as much, hitting 55 kilometres in the pool across 44 sessions, which I'm choosing to frame as well-rounded cross-training rather than an inability to commit to any single sport. The overall activity count jumped from 181 to 269 and active minutes from 3,305 to 7,240, so the direction of travel is genuinely positive. So the plan for 2020, presumably, is to actually build on that rather than arrive at next December's review making the same sheepish observations.

Summary generated by Claude