End of 2013 round up

Here's a great meme that I did at the end of last year, and which I hope to repeat ad inifinitum as it's a good way of looking back over the last twelve months.  You can see my last answers here.  It's a more informal complement to the facts and figures I'll be posting in due course.

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
Ran a half marathon.  Did an Aquathlon.  Completed a half ironman.  Was featured in a National Magazine and had a photo shoot for it.  Qualified as an Assistant Triathlon coach.  Swam without a wetsuit in coldish water (13-16C).  Represented Great Britain at the Age Group Aquathlon World Championships.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
"I have New Year's Goals which will focus some of my efforts for 2013, notably completing a 3.8k swim in under an hour (came so close in 2012!), and finishing an Ironman 70.3/half ironman."  I did the latter but not the former.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Seemingly almost everyone.  I exaggerate, but 2013 was the year of the baby.

 4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes. My husband's Gran died in October.

5. What countries did you visit?
Austria and Spain (Tenerife).

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
Better health and a bit more zen.  The same answer applies again this year! AND, again in 2013.  And a better mood.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
1st September - completing my first half ironman.


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Training for and completing a half ironman and taking the total money I've raised for Mind to over £11,000.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Being in the same place mood-wise as I was at this point in 2012.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Ongoing shoulder niggles, and then in August/September, a weird running related injury that affected my hip.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A new house!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Mine, I think :)

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Recently, the attitude of many MPs at the governmental debate on foodbanks.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage and food and petrol to races.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Not having to ride a road bike anymore once my half ironman was completed! I got increasingly excited about this as the half ironman got closer.



16. What song will always remind you of 2013?
Not sure this year - most of the pre-race motivational music seemed to be the same as in 2012.  But anything from "Now that's what I call running" will take me back to the running that I did in 2012.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
bit sadder
b) thinner or fatter?
bit more toned
c) richer or poorer?
probably poorer...

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Swimming - kind of resented the amount of time (and energy) I lost to the bike this year

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
See above!

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my husband

21. Did you fall in love in 2012?
Carried on being in love.

22. How many one-night stands?
Absolutely none.

23. What was your favourite TV program?
I didn't really find the time to watch TV this year :(

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No

25. What was the best book you read?
I read very little for me this year - in the early part of the year I was too busy or too tired with the training, as the year drew to a close, my concentration was too poor :(  I didn't manage to get back into the habit of recording what I read which is sad so I can't even look back over what I read.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Not really a discovery, but I listened to more of Einaudi's newer stuff this year (and LOVED seeing him live in November)

27. What did you want and not get?
Pretty much got everything that I wanted this year - a half ironman finisher's medal, a detached house.  I haven't yet got a cure for my depression, but maybe next year.

28. What did you want and get?
As I said above, I was pretty lucky this year :)

29. What was your favourite film of this year?
As last year, haven't seen very many. I did make it to the cinema to see Saving Mr Banks which was ok, and we recently watched Enchanted.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 29 and we spent it in Kidlington.

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Swimming 3.8k a bit faster.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
What can I wear to work that covers up my compression socks and what can I wear to work that will enable me to go training straight after?

33. What kept you sane? 
Swimming.  And my husband (when he wasn't compromising my sanity! [joke!])


34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Poverty in the UK.

35. Whom did you miss?
As ever, missed my beautiful friend Emily.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Met Claire at the end of 2012, but we became better friends this year :)  Cycling from Westminster Abbey to Islip in Oxfordshire together was one of my biggest achievements in 2013.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013:
"Not to take good mental health for granted, nor to expect everyone to understand mental health issues.  You'd think I might have learnt these lessons previously, but it turns out that I hadn't.  Hopefully they will stay with me a bit longer this time."
- yet again, something I wrote last year is just as true this time around (sorry to the people who read this post at the end of 2012, should have suggested that you didn't need to bother!)

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I've spent 3 days thinking about this and failing dismally to improve on last year's Chumbawumba "I get knocked down...I get up again...you're never gonna keep me down"

39. So in as few words as possible, how would you sum up your year?
Half ironwoman!