The Top Ten of 2012 Part 2

The conclusion of my top ten of the year 2012. Without further ado, I'll continue the countdown at number 5.

5: Becoming a cyclist

As part of a Twitter competition organised by Transport for London during London 2012, I was fortunate to win a £300 bicycle voucher. Being a full-time runner, I knew nothing about bicycles so I had a bit of trouble finding out what was right for me. Eventually I settled for an entry-level type of bike, a 24-speed hybrid, versatile for both road and off-road cycling. It's served me very well so far, with no problems whatsoever. This is also a great way for me to cross-train, when I need a break from all that running. 

My new ride.

The weather recently hasn't been great for riding, so when summer comes around I hope to cycle further out to neighbouring towns. I think I prefer cycling on the roads than cycling off-road, so I may graduate to a road bike when the time is right (and the budget allows!). I also enjoyed following the Tour de France in greater detail this year and seeing Bradley Wiggins become the first British winner. Hopefully I could get to ride a bike like that on the roads, and maybe do a little bit of cycling in France, Tour de France style. 

4: Becoming a Solution Architect

After working as a Implementation Consultant for over three years, I felt that I needed to make the step up in my career, and with the departure of some very experienced members of the Services team there were clearly some big shoes to fill.

It was always in my career path to become a Solution Architect and when the role was advertised internally throughout the company I decided to apply, but only after some encouragement from a couple of close colleagues. In the end, after a long interview process, I got the role and the backing of my manager and colleagues alike. 

Within days of starting out, the quality and, without doubt, the quantity of work took on a whole new meaning. At times I felt like I drank from the poisoned chalice, but on reflection this is exactly what I needed: to get out of my comfort zone, to learn new things, to help increase the expertise within a growing team and make a big difference on current and upcoming projects in region. It's a challenge to juggle these heavy work responsibilities with my current marathon commitments, but it seems like I'm coping... so far!

The title of Solution Architect sounds quite impressive, admittedly. It's a bit of a mouthful to explain the job description to others that are not in the IT industry (one of my more humorous answers is "I draw things with crayons"). I hope this funny video of Will Ferrell and Justin Timberlake explains it a bit.

You know what? I have no idea what the hell I'm saying!

3: Achieving the London Boston Qualification Double

This time last year, if you told me that I would qualify for both the London and Boston marathons in 2012, I would've laughed at you. With a PB of 3:19 at the end of 2011, and improvements of 1-2 minutes between recent marathons, the qualification times of 3:10 for London and 3:05 for Boston seemed very far away. But that's exactly what I managed to do this year, after adjusting my training philosophy and just working my butt off, day in, day out!

For London, there was always the option of getting in by the various charities or the public ballot, but having had no luck in the ballot, I was determined to earn my way in - with my legs, my lungs and, most importantly, my heart. And to get in the hard way with a Good For Age place made this achievement so much sweeter. On a cool, overcast and, also, windy day in Paris, almost near-perfect conditions for running, I achieved what I thought was almost impossible a year ago - a place on the starting line in next year's London Marathon.

The final push to the finish along Avenue Foch, and getting that Good For Age place for London.

If getting a Good For Age place for London was the springboard for this year's huge marathon improvement, then qualifying for the prestigious Boston Marathon, the ultimate achievement in long distance running with a competitive registration process, was the very sweet icing on the very delicious cake! From 3:08 in Paris to 3:03 in Chicago in the space of six months is a testament that I must be doing something right in training. Qualifying for Boston was the result of many hours of training, a bit of luck on race day and being inspired by Mo Farah's performances in London 2012. With a BQ time safely in the bag, I did the Mobot as I crossed the line, much to the amusement of others watching the finish line. 

Doing the "Mobot" after finishing Chicago with a BQ time.

And to top off a memorable time in Chicago, I even got a congratulatory message from the women's world record holder in the marathon, Paula Radcliffe.

A nice message from the women's world record holder in the marathon.

2: London 2012

Could this be the greatest British summer, of our lives? Never mind that it rained or that the weather was, at best, mediocre; the fact that the greatest show on earth was right on our doorstep, the fact that this was Team GB's most successful medal haul ever, the fact that Team GB managed to capture the heart of the nation, the fact that we saw so many amazing performances from so many world class athletes, has left us with a raft of amazing memories that we will never get to experience again in our lifetime. 

The Olympic Torch Relay as it passed through Reading.

Badminton at the Wembley Arena. Top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia (in yellow) against Kashyap Parupalli of India.

I'm so happy to have had the privilege to experience London 2012 firsthand - it's been something I've wanted to do before I came to the UK four years ago. This is something that we may not experience again in our lifetime. From the Olympic torch relay that brought the public together, to the spectacular, and very British, opening ceremony; from seeing so many amazing performances across different sports, to actually just being there in person, all of these memories will stay with me for as long as I live.

Entering Olympic Park.

Inside Olympic Stadium.

There were so many amazing moments that I witnessed live and on TV, but my personal favourites were: going to Olympic Park to watch the Athletics, seeing the ever-smiling Nicola Adams become the first woman to win a Boxing gold medal, watching Usain Bolt defend his 100m Olympic title against the most stacked lineup in 100m history (and also achieve the double-triple), seeing Mo Farah and his training partner upstage the dominant East African runners by winning the 10,000m final, and witnessing Super Saturday (04/08/2012), the greatest day for Team GB where a raft of gold medals were won on a single day.

Doing the pose in Olympic Park, never mind that cheeky photobomber!

With my UK family in Olympic Park.

Just getting acquainted with the Games Makers, who were instrumental in making the games a success.

All good things have to end, and I was soon nursing a big Olympics hangover. However the BBC managed to show an Olympics montage on the penultimate day of the games, and during the hangover period I managed to find it on YouTube, and watched it repeatedly just to relive those special moments. It really summed up the performance of Team GB and the Olympics beautifully. But you don't have to be British to be moved by this video - 0:53 with Gemma Gibbons mouthing "I love you, Mum" gets me every time.

The best montage, ever. This song should've been the theme song to London 2012.

1: The Great European Holiday

This was nearly six months in the making, with flights, accommodation, trains and activities planned down to the nth degree and booked well in advance. And it all went according to plan (apart from the flight delays, which didn't affect things too much!). I'm so glad that I managed to pull this one off.   

In Salzburg's Mirabell Garden, where the Do Re Mi scene from the movie The Sound of Music was filmed. I was trying, very badly, to re-enact the scene!

When my parents announced that they were coming over to Europe for the very first time, I wanted to show them what was so special about the UK and Europe and why I decided to spend my time here. So we came up with an itinerary that contained a mixture of popular destinations and my personal favourites. We started in Reading, then explored Oxford, Bath, London, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Salzburg, Munich, Bern, Lucerne, Venice and Rome. From there, we parted company as they continued their holiday cruising the Mediterranean.

The Chapel Bridge in Lucerne, the oldest wood bridge in Europe.

The Zytglogge in Bern, a clock tower built in the 13th century.

Highlights include: climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris, doing the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, viewing the stunning scenery in Bern and Lucerne, navigating the narrow streets of Venice and travelling by high-speed rail across most of continental Europe. Having not seen my parents in two years it was a great time to get together and travel as a family. Not like the Griswalds though, thankfully.

A panorama of St. Mark's Square, Venice.

Having a very expensive afternoon tea in St. Mark's Square, Venice.

Sunset as seen from Rialto Bridge, Venice.

Did they prefer life in UK or NZ? Well, they said they preferred NZ and understandably so. I hope that they enjoyed their trip over here and managed to get an insight into life in the UK and what I get up to over here.

Epilogue

This concludes my Top Ten of 2012. And it's been a very good year with so many indelible memories and experiences. 2012 was always going to be about the London Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee, and I'm happy that I was around to live in the moment. The marathon double qualification was not expected, but I really worked hard at my craft this year and managed to achieve. The career move was extremely challenging and will only continue to provide new and exciting challenges, which is what I need. And the holiday with the parents was a great way for us to be together as a family as we do not see each other very often.

With the new year just ushered in, I am hoping that I can somehow go one better in 2013, and to do that I will need to further go outside of my comfort zone and take opportunities as they come along. Two things that I'm looking forward to in 2013 are: achieving that highly coveted sub-3 hour marathon time at the London Marathon, and getting indefinite leave to remain in the UK, allowing me to stay in the UK "just a little bit longer".

I hope that the new year will bring more unforgettable experiences, less nasty surprises, good health (after all we are getting older) and, of course, a faster marathon time! Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Thank you all.