Racing. Yes, I’ll start with races. It was an amazing year of racing.
-We broke last year’s records, not only in quantity, but we smashed it with variety: running, triathlon, vertical running (running to the top of the world’s tallest buildings), bike and obstacles races, and team challenges.
– I tried new distances, felt all sorts of pain and sweat a lot.
-I can finally swim 1.5km without switching to breaststroke.
-We were participating in races as invited athletes. Moreover, in vertical races we were racing in elite groups.
-I set goals to achieve certain times for long distances and didn’t … Yet. My goals were not correctly set, without considering the quantity of races we were doing, it was quite difficult to train properly and work full time. I guess in 2018 I’ll race less and train more.
– I got personal best in short distances: 5 km – 2min12 sec faster, 10 km – 4 min faster, sprint distance triathlon – 13 min faster. I even finished 3rd in 14 km race at Suzhou International marathon. I was flying that day and I felt the sweet taste of the victory in a huge field of runners.
-Shanghai Marathon organizers invited us to appear in the the 2017 Marathon promotional videos.
-And of course, the main race of the year – the New York City Marathon! BG got a spot in the most famous race in the world! An amazing experience and a life changing event!
Okay, next year I gotta train properly and work on my weak spots! Not looking forward to that painful routine, but I know that I’ll enjoy it.
We were traveling a lot, at the same time we had very few big trips. Most of our travels were related to the races we were participating in.
-A year of exploring beautiful China. Hiking the most breathtaking mountains, sneaking into small and old neighborhoods, exploring temples and palaces, eating with local people, hours of delays in airports and hotels. There is still so much to do and see!
-My best friend visited us in June and we climbed Mount Huang. We met each other traveling and I’m so grateful for a chance to have one more trip together.
-For the first time, our flight was cancelled and we stayed overnight at a hotel. The next day I was working from the airport while waiting for the information about our flight. It was tiny airport with no food and we ordered pizza delivery. And what do you think? Of course, they announced, that our flight is boarding right now and pizza man was 10 min away from the airport. But Everything is possible in China! We got our pizza delivered directly into the plane! And we fed hungry Kenyan runners.
-Participating in races is one of the best ways to travel. Just imagine – you come to a scenic spot and you have a chance to swim in those legendary lakes, bike across the town and run through the best view points. And, of course, all roads will be closed for you and there will be cheering people making noise and clapping. Priceless experience!
-We travelled to another city by bike. We left in the afternoon, arrived in the evening and danced all night at a salsa festival. Dancing and having fun for 2 days with our students and friends, and then biked back to Shanghai. Pretty good experience, I was very proud of my legs.
-Diving in the best diving spot. Every dive there is unique, full of life and flora. Diving for me is like a door to another universe and a privilege to see our planet from the other side. The recipe for happiness is quite simple: dive, eat, sleep, repeat.
-Coming to America. While celebrating and welcoming year 2017 we didn’t plan it. Sometimes things just happen, for good or for bad only time will tell.
In 2018 we will be exploring another continent. So excited and we look forward to the journey ahead. 2018, we are ready for you!!!!