Consistency can be hard to come by when you are constantly on the move. It can be even harder when you are trying to travel non-stop and be constantly training to improve your fitness and hiking capabilities. Sometimes you are in the mountains and at other times in the city. Some weeks you are busy on a project and others have free days to hike. All of the factors that a travel lifestyle throws at you make it hard to have a regimented routine. However, when I look back at the statistics of this year, there is one number that stands out to me.
The magic number: 100,000 meters of elevation climbed
I started off the year slow, overcoming some injuries from the year prior but quickly zipped back into jogging and riding in Cebu. With a taste for riding in Asia, I was set for some interesting bike-packing adventures. COVID came and I found myself in Adelaide, Australia. Here I entertained myself by riding around 150-kilometers a week and running 20-40 kilometers a week. I enjoyed the trail runs and learned to climb the hills on my bike. I didn’t do many hikes but there was some decent incline gained from the trail runs and rides into the foothills of Adelaide.
Madeira was the next big move of the year and it was here that I stopped running and riding to let an achilles injury heal. However, the hiking began and it quickly ramped up. The first month was 7000 meters climbed, then the next month it was 10,000 and it continued from there to reach 16,000 meters climbed in December.
By the time the end of the year came I combined all of the activities whether it be running, riding, or hiking and I amassed 100,000 meters of incline for the year. This is an average of 274 meters of elevation every single day. Good going and something to take into 2021. My legs feel strong but as always for me, it’s a matter of staying injury-free, which is always difficult with a body like mine after a few surgeries and the body imbalances I have to deal with. Either way, I think it’s my steepest year ever and I’m looking forward to building on that number further in 2021.
Climbing is such a good measure of how my life is going. If I’m grabbing elevation it means I’m not only seeing great views but working hard to get there. It means I’m probably in good shape physically but also mentally because climbing those kinds of numbers means you are outdoors and enjoying a challenge. That’s what I love about hiking. It’s exercise but also my hobby, job, and stress release all at once. I’m lucky in that sense to be able to combine all of those characteristics into something I get to do almost every day.
So here’s to another big year of climbing and let’s see where we end up! Here’s a few good memories from hikes, runs or rides this year!
Pema
Saturday 26th of December 2020
Are you showing off your muscles ??
Pema
Saturday 26th of December 2020
Just kidding. But you look very fit. Congrats on the 100,000m!