2011: A Year in Review

Happy New Year!

2012 is upon us so the time has come to reflect on 2011 and look forward to the year ahead.

Travel

(Red = Planes, Green = Trains, Blue = Automobiles)
View 2011 - Year in Travel in a larger map

Iceland

In February, I visited Iceland with my schoolmate Dan. Our mission, to see and photograph the aurora borealis.

We succeeded:

Aurora Borealis over Hella, Iceland. February 2011

Our first night it was raining and on the third night there was a blizzard. Conditions on the second night, as you can see, were perfect!

It was an amazing sight. The lights seem to build up gradually and appear to come up from the ground rather than descend from above as I would have expected. When they first appeared, I thought I was imagining things, it was that subtle. Eventually they built up to the impressive sight I've managed to catch on film. 

I prepared in advance by studying advice on websites written by aurora photographers. Still, it took me several attempts to get a decent photograph. I had to take a 30 second exposure with my DSLR to get this picture.

In the daytime, we explored south west Iceland. Here are some of the highlights:

Strokkur Geyser, Geysir, Iceland. February 2011

Me, wrapped up warm in front of Gullfoss, a spectacular waterfall

The black sand beach at Vik

Florence, Italy

In May, I caught up with Toby, another old schoolfriend of mine who returned from a 2 year contract in the Cayman Islands. He settled in London but I have an irrational dislike of London so we decided to visit Florence for a weekend instead. The highlights:

Me (failing to smile because I dislike posing for photos), beside the river Arno in front of the Ponte Vecchio

A glimpse of the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore

United Kingdom

2011 had me traipsing up and down the country as usual. The usual meeting friends, family, sitting exams, going to work...

Health & Fitness


2011 saw me make strides in this area of my life also. As I mentioned previously, work over my first year in the East Midlands almost killed me. I didn't have 6kg to lose!! So, I took steps. I bought a Withings WiScale to track my weight and resolved to eat better. Progress was made, and I've even exceeded my baseline weight of 69kg! Proof below:

My weight since April 2011

I also took up running. For support, I joined my local running club (Rutland Running & Triathlon Club). With their help I went from wheezing my way through a few hundred metres to being able to run 30+ minutes comfortably. An old uni friend of mine, Drew, introduced me to parkrun in late October. Its a free, timed 5k run every Saturday held in parks all over the country. My first couple of efforts were less-than-stellar. I stuck at it and managed 5 parkruns in late 2011 each time bettering my previous performances.

Me setting a parkrun 5Km PB in November

In April, as well as my scale, I bought a FitBit pedometer to track my steps. I remembered to wear it more often than not. By September, I'd walked 750 miles with it!

My 750 mile FitBit badge!

Finally, in September, I bought a bike. I was inspired in part by my new bosses who are all keen cyclists and do long-distance charity rides every summer and my mate Drew's triathlon preparations. Also, I live in an area with ample cycle routes so it felt right to get back into cycling. Having tried a dozen bikes in the local bike shop, I opted for the Giant Defy 4.

My shiny new bike!

It goes scarily fast and I'm still getting used to the clipless pedals and cycle shoes! There's a local cycling club that I plan to join in the springtime of 2012 when my schedule thins out a little. I've also planned to try a sprint triathlon in August.

Work

Work was OK in 2011. Got promoted in August. Made sure to take all the leave I was entitled to so I didn't burn out like in 2009-10!! Passed an important exam in February, failed another in September. That's all I'll say about work.

Life

Thanks to the running club, I now know more local people. I've let go of a lot of old baggage this year and my uni friends were surprised by my energy when I met up with them in Glasgow! I'm healthier than I've ever been in my life before! Definite progress.

When 2010 ended, I was on a downer. At the end of 2011, I'm on a high and can't wait to challenge myself in 2012. I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions, they just don't stick. Instead, I'm going to try to build on my momentum and see where it takes me.

2012, bring it on!!