Thus Concludes 2013

One year ago today, I summarized my year in reading.  Below I do the same, but add fitness to the recollection this time- I need to start working on that.

Reading 

As I looked back at my post from 365 days ago, I have to laugh- my goal was to read less this year (I said 36 books).  I read over 80- whoops.  I don't know if I should feel proud or see a therapist. 

This year, I read 81 total books, 29 of which I rated a solid "A" (95) or higher (my average rating was 87).  This was the first year I kept track of the number of pages I've read (yes, I obsess).  The final number was 23,314 pages, or ~64 pages/day.  That's an hour of reading each day- really not that big of a deal.  Seriously; think of people like Theodore Roosevelt, who read 1-3 books per day, and you'll know I'm not in the upper echelon.

At the highest level, I finished my British Reading List by reading the final 40 works on it.  Amusingly, I then proceeded to read 11 more British books before year's end. So, the year was dominated by Britain's finest, once again.  That said, my overall list was broad in scope, but the year was dominated by fantasy (31 books), history (9), and classic literature (12).  Several series were enjoyed- Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Sherlock Holmes among them.  I started a Robin Hood kick this year, coupled with continued interest in King Arthur stories.  Star Wars remained a mainstay, as did history books.  Finally, I read a few leadership books, and really enjoyed them.

Of everything, here are my Top 10 Books (or Series) of the Year:
The Harry Potter saga by JK Rowling (I liked books 3 and 7 the best)
The Lord of the Rings saga by JRR Tolkien (I liked book 3 the best)
The Arthur Trilogy by Kevin Crossley-Holland 
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
Batman: Black Mirror by Scott Snyder et. al.
Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison by Haden Blackman et. al.
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Peter Pan and Wendy by JM Barrie

As always, I've found reading, regardless of genre or topic, to be a valuable past-time.  Pick up a book- or many- in 2014.

Fitness

I'm including this category for recollection and accountability.  Next year I plan to be better about fitness- think of this as a baseline.

I began the year weighing ~195lbs.  I hit 200lbs around June, then decided to man up and lose some.  At the conclusion of this year, I'm at 185lbs.  I hope to lose 5-10 more next year.

I like to lift weights (generally twice a week), but I didn't try to make any progress in that this year, in terms of increasing muscle mass.  I did start doing the "green sally up" push-up challenge a few times a week, and that makes a big difference.  I've been reading about the benefits of short, high-intensity work outs, and I've seen that be true in that exercise.  I need to mix it up here, as I tend to do the exact same work out each time.  My body gets used to that, and I don't benefit as much as I could.

I didn't run as much this year as I would have liked.  For much of the year, I ran only once a week- 3 miles, on Saturdays.  My best time for that, if memory serves, was 22:30 (7:30/mile pace).  Towards the end of the year, I started running more frequently, and a bit farther- 7km, or 4.33 miles.  My best there was 34:50 (8:01/mile pace).  8min/mile is my standard for longer distances- and I hope to maintain that over greater and greater lengths in 2014.

I love running, but my main issue with it is my knees and lower back.  When I run more than once a week, I really feel it in both places- in a bad way.  I need to figure out how to heal more quickly- or which muscles I need to work to supplement running.  I also had a bout of sciatica this year that knocked me out for over a month- and I'm still feeling it at times on my lower left side.  Yoga/stretching help- and I need to do that more frequently next year, too.

My diet really needs work.  I did start eating less for lunch- which is in part responsible for my weight loss- and I eat less meat now, too.  I enjoy vegetables, but my downfall is sugar- I love sweets.  I have to cut back on those in 2014.

Well, that's my fitness in summary for 2013- more on goals for 2014 tomorrow, in the "what lies ahead" post.