Looking Forward to 2022

Okay 2022, what do you have for me?

I wouldn’t particularly call myself a resolution maker because, let’s face it, most resolutions are destined to fail. But I do like to set goals, especially goals that are both flexible and have a distinct end point or time.

It usually takes me some time to come up with my goals for the year, and before I commit to them, I’ve generally been mulling them over for a little bit. With the pandemic, I kept my goals slim last year—running the Cuerda Larga and participating the in the CMTR Spring Scavenger Hunt. As an aside, I also participated in their Summer Scavenger Hunt and completely failed to finish it—probably because I didn’t make it an official goal. See how that works?

So here are some of the goals I’ve been eyeing for 2022, in no particular order.

This is something I’ve toyed with for a long time. I’ve never run anything longer than a marathon, and it’s been a long time since I’ve even done that, but I’d really love to test myself for a longer distance. Ultimately, I would like to run 50 miles, but this year, I’m starting with a more modest 50k. I haven’t decided on the location or route. Since I don’t do races anymore, it will be self-supported (or somewhat partner-supported, depending on the time of year and location).

Run a multiday route

Since about November or so, I’ve been pondering doing a multiday run, perhaps over a long weekend—just about three or four days. Like my 50k goal, I also haven’t chosen the route—but I have looked at a few different options. I don’t have a lightweight tent or bivvy sack, and I don’t particularly fancy running with my 2-person tent, so I will need to plan on staying along the way. Fortunately, Spain is full of little towns, so it’s all about finding the right combination of lodging options along a route.

For Christmas, I got my partner a guide to all the snow and ice gullies of the Sierra de Guadarrama, so I guess it was really a joint gift. I have climbed one on Peñalara and my partner has climbed a few more, but I would like to do as many as I can. At this point, I can’t commit to doing them all because some are going to be too difficult or require gear I don’t have, and others may not be possible without a certain amount of snow. Also, this is sort of a limited time goal—only a couple months in the beginning and end of the year open to this, weather permitting, of course.

This one falls under a more general approach to the year, as there are a couple areas that I would like to become more consistent with over the next year.

1. Strength and mobility. I’ve really been skipping a lot of this lately, which, as expected, has resulted in a minor niggle in my heel that I’m now recovering from. I run before work (lately, to work) and haven’t been putting in the effort I need to recover from these runs. From January 10 to 31, I plan to do my own New Year challenge related to this topic called “Just Do the Extras.” You can follow along on Instagram at #justdotheextras as I do exactly that every day, even if it’s just 5 minutes.
2. Writing. The target here is to add more writing time to my week. I’m currently writing for only an hour a few days a week. I don’t always have a ton of free time and do most of my writing during my lunch hour. On Fridays, I work a shorter day, so I plan to start by just adding 2 hours of writing on these afternoons.  
3. Blog posting. My goal here is to finish my blog posts the day before I plan to post them. I’m also developing a calendar and posting plan instead of just winging it, which is what I have been doing.

Other things (potentially) happening this year:

Later this month, I’m going on a weeklong ski trip to Andorra. I’ve never been on a ski trip, though I do ski. I’m not sure it will keep me entertained for a week, so my partner has been looking at some mountaineering options to do while we are there as well.

In February, since it didn’t happen in December, and probably not January either, the caving club is going to Cantabria. I’m still very much looking forward to joining that excursion.

My partner wants to climb Toubkal this year, which is the highest mountain in the Atlas Mountain range. However, given the variable status of the borders between Morocco and the EU due to COVID-19, I just don’t know how feasible this is. In addition, the plan would be to go in February, and I’m not sure if I currently have the level of fitness I would like for such a climb.

• Spending time with my partner
• Reading in the mornings with my little lap cat
• Spending time outdoors even if it’s not part of my official goals
• Waking up early
• Running to work
• Not drinking alcohol (haven’t really made up my mind on coffee yet)
• Caving!
• All the other things I’ve completely forgotten about in the moment but continue to enrich my daily life

So, here’s to 2022. Let’s raise a glass (of something nonalcoholic for me, like a nice cup of tea) to a new year of possibilities, discoveries, and, of course, challenges, as my life would feel incomplete without them.