My 2017 Year- In - Review!

   

It's been a long time since I've done one of those "year end reviews" that are so popular this time of year. It never really seemed as though I had anything terribly interesting to tell people about and I don't really set goals for myself so it never was possible to tell people whether I actually achieved them or not. So, this year, once again I wasn't going to bother with the re-cap process.

Medway Valley ESA

   Then I stopped and thought about what kind of a year I'd had. It occurred to me that, for a change, I had done some things I'd never done before and I actually had set some goals throughout the year and then attained them! Because of this, the thought of going back and doing a little rehashing seemed more enjoyable than it usually does. So here I go!
   I spent most of the early part of 2017 getting acquainted with the trail systems right here in London, Ontario. At the end of 2016, my interest in trail-running was piqued and I promised myself I would spend as much time out on the trails as I possibly could, as soon as I could. 

Sifton Bog ESA

   To this end, I made it a goal to visit each of London's seven Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) and run the trails there. This past winter was a mild one for this area and getting out on the trails was relatively easy and more or less painless. On the weekends and whenever I had a day off I would simply visit the next ESA on my list---I was already quite familiar with the ones at my end of town and had already run them many times. Eventually, it took a little over a month (parts of February and March) to get all seven ESAs properly run. I even ran a couple of them twice.
   

Meadowlily ESA

It was during this time that I also had the opportunity to try out the new Camelbak I'd gotten for Christmas. At the end of 2016, I'd run into hydration issues while out on the trails (I sweat a lot) and I knew that if I was going to spend as much time running the trails as I really wanted, then I would need a more viable form of hydration. The Camelbak worked just fine and I was excitedly looking forward to the Spring and Summer.

Westminster Ponds ESA....can you spot the teddy bear??

   Spring finally came and early in April I decided I would go out for a street run and see just where all this winter trail-running had taken me, in the way of endurance. I started out from my house and ran about four houses down before I heard a pop in my knee and felt the pain. Thank goodness I was that close to home and was able to limp my way back.
   I was actually able to get into my doctor the following day and was diagnosed with a strained or pulled gastrocnemius muscle. This is one of the long muscles which travels up the back of your leg and connects in under your kneecap. He prescribed a couple weeks of rest, a couple of weeks of walking and then a couple of weeks of light running.

Thames Valley Trail

   I did the resting. Then it was time for the walking. Back at the end of 2016, I had heard about something called the Thames Valley Trail. It was a 110

Thames Valley Trail

kilometer trail which started about 30K southwest of London, worked its way up through the city and then on to the town of St. Marys, northeast of London. I had already been intrigued with the idea of hiking the Trail and when the doctor told me that walking would become part of my knee's recovery process, things just seemed to fall into place.
   I then spent slightly over a month hiking all 15 sections of the trail. Several times I was able to hike more than one section at a time so, altogether, this came to nine different outings.

Thames Valley Trail

   It was quite the learning experience! I learned a fair bit about what my 64-year-old body was capable of (and sometimes what it wasn't) and I walked it entirely on my own, which also made it a very contemplative experience. There are many such trails here in Ontario and I now have the yen to hit more of them!
   September came and, after a couple of setbacks with  my knee, I was finally able to try actual running again. I had tweaked my knee a couple of times while out hiking and playing golf and because of

Thames Valley Trail

this it took me this long to actually tentatively run again.
   My plan was to get out the first time and run 1 kilometer. As long as things were okay, the next time out I would run 1K farther and so on, back up to a respectable mileage. Eventually, through September to early December, I worked my way back up to running 9K. 
   At that point, winter and Christmas hit and, if I had any free time that I could have used for running, I spent it shopping, or some other Christmas activity. 

Thames Valley Trail

    Round about this time, however, I started going back to the gym again! I had had a Goodlife membership for about two years and hadn't used it once. Totally ridiculous, obviously, and so I more or less forced myself to get back into it. Having done so, however, I found I rather enjoyed it and am looking forward to getting back to it in the new year.
   So, this is my re-cap of my 2017. When I looked back at it, I realized that I actually had made several goals and then followed through on all of them.

And ME---at the END of the
Thames Valley Trail!

   I had a goal of running all of London's ESAs and I had done that. I had a goal of hiking the Thames Valley Trail and I had done that. I had a goal of getting back to decent mileage during trail runs and I had done that. I had a goal of getting back into the gym and, lo and behold, I had done that as well!
   I am now wondering what 2018 will bring. For sure, I want to explore more hiking trails in Ontario and I have to admit that the Bruce Trail is high on my list. Part of me even wants to hike somewhere with a tent strapped to my back so I can spend the night and then keep on hiking in the morning. I definitely want to run more, and longer, trails. There are some snowshoeing experiences that await. There are more trips to the gym in my future and, at some point, I really need to get out and play some ball hockey with the younger guys.
   So I guess all of the above are my goals for 2018 and, having stated them here, I will now be able to go back around this time next year and tell you all how many of them I was able to attain. In the meantime, I hope that 2018 brings only happiness and self-fulfillment to you all! 
   Cheers!