twenty twelve running recap

Last year I set a goal of running 300+ hours from January 1 to December 31, but unfortunately I didn't come anywhere close to that number. Apparently moving to a new country, becoming a teacher and starting graduate school take a lot of time and energy.

Despite not logging as many hours as I had hoped, I logged a bunch of very awesome hours, in a bunch very awesome places, with a bunch of very awesome people.

In 2012, I ran in the jungles of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, I climbed (and descended) two volcanoes on Isla Ometepe, I ran to and from a not so nearby village in the campo to raise funds for disaster relief, I ran to the highest point of Costa Rica (12,533 ft.) (and some other nearby peaks), I ran a 50 miler in our tico county two days before saying hasta luego al pais y nuestos amigos, I ran in the deserts of New Mexico, the forests of North Carolina, and the streets of my home town, I ran in Rocky Mountain National Park, I ran "A Real Mountain Race" put on by a legend, I ran into the pages of TrailRunner magazine, I ran my first half-marathon(s), I ran on roads, I ran on "roads," I ran on trails, I ran on "trails," I ran in cow pastures, I ran in brutal heat, I ran in freezing temperatures, I ran in sun, rain, and snow, I ran at dawn and at dusk, I ran with Ticos, Nicas y gringos, I ran with new friends and old friends, I ran with my wife, I ran alone.

In 2013, I don't have a long-term goal, but I want to complete my first hundred mile race, and quite possibly a 24 hour run, I want to traverse Petrified Forest National Park, I want to run up and down the highest point in Gallup (~3 miles with 900' of climb) in under 30 minutes (36:39 is my current best), I want to continue to explore new places and meet new people.

Running in the High Desert

One week later

2012 Book Blog

2012 was an interesting one for books. The year started with some great reads in both English and Spanish and then surprisingly our free reading time became almost non-existant as books for grad school were thrown at us as well as all of the delightful stories that get put into the mix as elementary school teachers. We did squeeze out a few pleasurable reads after the school year began, but the book consumption rates that we enjoyed while living in Costa Rica are no longer.         Chris threw himself at Vonnegut whenever he had a spare moment and we perused the bookshelves at Goodwill to pick up anything that wasn't already in our collection. That being said, his favorite read of the year was not by Vonnegut but instead by McDougall. His number one for 2012 was Born to Run. In my attempt to escape from our grad school readings I got sucked into The Hunger Games after our professor let me borrow them. I also revisited numerous old favorites and found some treasures on our own bookshelves that had been rescued from numerous yard sales over the summer and then forgotten about. My favorite read of the year though came from the Peace Corps library - Worldwalk topped my list in 2012. A summary of what was read:  Non-fiction: 13 (Chris - 12, Tarah - 9) Spanish: 11 (Chris - 5, Tarah - 9) Fiction (English only): 26 (Chris - 15, Tarah - 17) Total Books Read: 50 (Chris - 32, Tarah - 35)    And the list:                          The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - Alexie (C&T)

Lorna Doone - Blackmore (T)

Educational Foundations** - Canestrati (C&T)

Maggie, Una Chica de la Calle* - Crane (T&C)

Catching Fire - Collins (T)

The Hunger Games - Collins (T)

Mockingjay - Collins (T)

The Witches - Dahl (T)

El Dia de la Venganza* - Daniels (T)

Robinson Crusoe - Defoe (C&T)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Díaz (C&T)

Captivating** - Eldridge (T)

El Gran Gatsby* - Fitzgerald (C&T)

First on the Rope - Frison-Roche (C)

Hoja de Aire* - Gutierrez (C)

A Farewell to Arms - Hemingway (C)

The Murder Room - James (T)

The Dharma Bums - Kerouac (C&T)

Fear and Trembling - Kierkegaard (C)

Prodigal Summer - Kingsolver (T)

Where Men Win Glory **- Krakauer (C&T)

A Sand County Almanac** - Leopold (C&T)

Mere Christianity** - Lewis (T&C)

Call of the Wild - London (C)

Young Men and Fire** - Maclean (C)

Siempre dama de honor* - Marsh (T)

Dynamic Social Studies for the Constructivist Classroom** - Maxim (T&C)

Atrapados en el Ayer* - McCusker (T)

Born to Run** - McDougall (T&C)

Un Magnate Aventurero* - McMahon (T)

Moby Dick - Melville (C)

Worldwalk** - Newman (C&T)

Cuentos de amor, de locura y de muerte* - Quiroga (C)

Limon Blues* - Rossi (T)

The Catcher in the Rye - Salinger (C&T)

The Bookseller of Kabul** - Seierstad (T&C)

Juevos Verdes con Jamon* - Seuss (C&T)

The Confusion - Stephenson (T)

Quicksilver - Stephenson (T)

Tormenta Silenciosa* - Stevens (T)

Ana Karenina - Tolstoy (T)

Language Arts: Patterns of Practice** - Tompkins (T&C)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain (C&T)

The Indian Frontier of the American West 1846-1890** - Utley (C)

Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut Jr. (C&T)

Cat's Cradle - Vonnegut (C)  Deadeye Dick - Vonnegut (C)

God Bless You Mr. Rosewater - Vonnegut (C)  Hocus Pocus - Vonnegut (C)

Teaching in the Real World** - Zukergood (C&T)

* Spanish

** Nonfiction