Finished reading: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury is rather strange. Some really lovely, poetic passages about the tranquility and beauty of Mars, coupled with buffoonish characters from Earth. I totally get this could be intentional, though it is jarring 📚
Finished reading: The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1] by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn is a remarkable book. I’ve never really comprehended the Stalin-era purges. Solzhenitsyn’s dark humour and extensive narrative details really helped make them feel horrifyingly real 📚
🏃♂️ Found some company on today’s run
🏊♂️🚴♂️🏃♂️ Fitness in 2023
I kept busy in 2023 with triathlon training. As a reference point for next year, here’s a comparison of 2023 with 2022.
My running was surprisingly consistent. Although the totals are almost identical, I do think that my structured workouts were much better in 2023. Each run had a purpose and all were part of a bigger plan.
There was a trade off for cycling between indoors and outdoors. In 2023, I couldn’t quite get aligned with most of the outdoor group rides. So, there was a lot more indoor riding on Zwift. I’d like to switch this around in 2024.
I’m surprised by my relatively low swimming distances in 2023. This is my strongest of the three. So, I tend to take it for granted. I should bump this up in 2024.
New books for the new year 📚
🥶 Shortest and coldest swim of the year
Year in books for 2023
I read some great books in 2023.
My favourite fiction book was The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. Non-fiction was Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson.
Finished reading: Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a good end to a fun series. I enjoyed the world building and premise of the trilogy which doesn’t get too serious 📚
Finished reading: Against the Grain by James C. Scott is a really interesting exploration of the links between agriculture and state building. Definitely changed my mind about early state formation 📚
We had a fun family night out to see the Candlelight Tribute to Taylor Swift at Longboat Hall. Interesting to hear the music reinterpreted by these talented musicians
🎵 Will Butler + Sister Squares - Will Butler + Sister Squares
I’m enjoying this one
The new Apple Watch integration with Training Peaks is really nice. Like my Garmin friends, I can finally just roll out of bed and do what my watch tell me to without having to manually create workouts 🏊🚴♂️🏃♂️
DayOne has integrated Journaling Suggestions already. A nice addition and now there’s no compelling reason to use the new Apple Journal app. I liked the promised simplicity of the new app, only to find it too simple. My journal is extended memory, so I rely on search, which isn’t in the new app.
Lucy tried the gecko food. Didn’t work well with her system, but she has no regrets
🏃♂️ Forgot to turn off the workout before getting back in the car. Got some impressive running paces! 😀
Nice addition to HealthFit: a visual summary of training load to see if you’re optimizing stress and recovery
🏊 🚴♂️ 🏃♂️ Alright, signed up for the Ironman 70.3 in Muskoka. I enjoyed the race last year and look forward to a repeat
Even more defaults
As a follow up to my Duel of the Defaults post, I’ve made a few changes. These are all based on further adopting app defaults to simplify things.
- 📰 RSS: I’ve swapped out Feedbin for iCloud as the backend for NetNewsWire. Although I really like the Feedbin service, my primary use of it is to access my feeds via a web browser at work. In an attempt to limit my feed reading to just once in the morning and once in the evening, switching to iCloud means that only my personal iPhone has access.
- 👓 Read It Later: Switching to Safari’s Reading List for this. The feature is well integrated into the system and more than sufficient for my needs.
- 🎧 Podcasts: After some back and forth and back again, over to Apple Podcasts.
These choices are largely motivated by an attempt to limit the number of inputs and potential for distractions. That said, these default apps are still powerful and effective.
🎄 Tree is up and decorated
🏃♂️ Light rain, wind, and NIN playlist made for a gloomy ambience on today’s run
