2015 In Review

Posted by Ross Poulton on Wed 17 February 2016 #running #work #personal #review #family

It doesn't seem that long ago that I wrote up my 2014 list - but it's obviously far enough in the past that I don't really remember what I was trying to achieve this year, but it's worth a review - even if we are already six weeks into the new year!

The big stuff in my life in 2014 - death, birth, and home renovations - were, relatively speaking, out of mind in 2015. I had no big personal or career changes, but lots of little things.

Here's my notes to my future self on what I did in 2015, and what I want to do in 2016. None of the following is overly exciting, but I want them recorded for my own future reference.

General stuff

  • Got out in the Campervan. Not as much as we wanted, but spent a total of 14 nights away from home in it. Installed a water pump so we have water without manually pumping like the dark ages. Included two trips of 4 nights each, completely off-grid, without drama.
  • Pilates has kept me away from the physiotherapist - except for when I busted my knee over-training for the half marathon
  • Built a bigger vegetable patch and got some chickens.
  • Bought a 4x4 to tow our campervan - does a much better job than my Subaru!

Kids

Gosh they change quickly, every week brings Below are a couple of stand-out memories for me from the past year:

  • Watched our 3 (now 4) year old move into swimming lessons by himself rather than swimming with Lauren or I. Incredibly satisfying to watch him swim laps of the little swim school pool
  • Played video games (on a TV, rather than his iPad educational stuff) with Mr 4 and had a ball. Super Nintendo classics from my childhood (on my original SNES console, not an emulator!) including Donkey Kong Country and Mario Kart as well as Apple TV newcomers like Crossy Road were a real hit.

Running

Professional

Since mid-2014 I've been entrenched in two of Melbourne's horse racing clubs working on CRM projects for managing their members and raceday events. It's been interesting, but I'd be lying if I didn't look forward to a project in a new industry.

Both of those clubs "went live" with their new CRM systems with relative success, and both provided their own challenges: most of our projects tend to be back-office systems that don't directly interact with the public at large, so having the pressure of thousands of members of the public trying to scan tickets into a racecourse was a new experience for me.

Due to re-prioritisation of my time I've done pretty much no open-source work, nor have I spent much time on WhisperGifts. Both continue to tick along.

2015 Goals

Based on what I hoped at this time last year I've done OK, but missed a couple of targets.

  • Run twice a week, including three parkruns a month: I ran 90 days in 2015 (including an 11-day streak in December), so not quite twice a week. I've also only done 9 parkruns, not even once a month. I think my overall running is acceptable, though.
  • Complete a 10km run. Smashed it, multiple times - and then went on to run 21.1km!
  • Spend 30 nights in the Campervan, including 5+ nights off the grid in one trip We did half of these nights - and two 4-nighters. Needs work.
  • Meditate Daily, or at least twice a week. Fail. Didn't meditate even once.

2016 goals

  • Spend much, much more time with my wife and kids.
  • Build another vegetable patch, and finish re-landscaping the front yard
  • Continue running.
    • Finish three half-marathons, with at least one under 1:40:00.
    • Get my 10K pace to below 50 minutes (hopefully this "just happens" by focussing on the 21.1k distance)
    • Great Ocean Road half marathon, Run Melbourne Half Marathon, and Melbourne Marathon Half Marathon events are on my calendar.
  • Spend 30+ nights in the campervan, most of them off-grid, with a 5+ night off-grid trip

Photo: Morning mist at Sheepyard Flat campground, in October 2015