Highlights of 2024
I always like to take the time at the end of each year to look back and reflect on what has made up the previous 12 months of my life as I feel that sometimes you get so caught up in living day by day you tend to neglect some of those important moments. I also think that reflecting back can help you relive some of the good times and then as you plan for the year ahead you can build off how they made you feel, to have more experiences the same or maybe if you fell short it will motivate you to want to do more.
European Holiday
Munich Marathon
Coldplay
Triathlons
Buying a home
Panthers Grand final
Running 840km
European Holiday
One of my favourite places is Munich in winter
Like the previous year I decided to take head to Europe during the winter with Sebastian and watch some European football. We managed to get in two Bayern Munich games, an Ac Milan game and a Juventus game in the short space of two and a half weeks. This one was a bit different because we flew into and out of Munich so we spent the bulk of the time in what was a very snowy conditions. We got to experience Italian football for the first time and we definitely weren’t let down, it was something else. We also got to experience a bit more of Italy by wandering the streets of Rome together seeing all the historic sights. For me this was the highlight of the year, it was great seeing so many exciting things but spending them with your son as they’re growing up is just a bit special, especially because we immersed ourselves in the communities we went to not just hanging about in the tourist spots
Munich Marathon
After my triathlon in May where I had run pretty well I decided to sign up for my first two marathons. The Sydney one I couldn’t do because I was injured and saving myself for the second one which I had booked to go to Munich for. Looking back now it was a great experience, not the best outcome in terms of race time but a good personal experience and one that certainly schooled me in how to run a marathon. I will forever have memories of those tough times in the cold weather over the last 16km and all the support of the people running past me.
Coldplay
Coldplay concert in Sydney
Going to a Coldplay concert had always been on my bucket list and so when I cancelled going to the one in Perth I wasn’t quite sure when the next one would be that I could go to, lucky for me they released concerts in Sydney and I managed to nab some tickets and take the kids. We had the time of our lives even though the weather wasn’t the best. We spent the whole night standing up singing and dancing and generally just letting loose, it was definitely one of my happiest moments of 2024. I think the night was summed up best by Isabelle when she said “look how happy Dad is” or Sebastian saying “Bro you really enjoyed that” they knew ;)
Triathlons
I only did two triathlons in 2024, which is okay because I didn’t really have any big plans, but what made me most happy about the triathlons I did was some of the performances within them and how I went about them. The first was Mooloolaba Triathlon, which is an olympic distance on the Sunshine Coast. I had been suffering from plantar fasciitis for a few months and this was my first race back, to my surprise I did a pretty good swim, solid bike and then was pumping the 10km run until I got some bad blisters, but nevertheless it was positive. Two months later I did the 70.3 in Port Macquarie, and again without much preparation and with a bike with no rear brake I think I did around 5:40, which is kind if my PB for that course, but the most impressive thing was the run, I ran my fastest ever half marathon in a triathlon during this race, so was super pleased, it prompted be to decide to focus on running given I didn’t have much time to do the other training.
Buying a home
I haven’t really written about it but my family situation changed last year and so throughout this year we sold up our house and went our own separate ways, and so I decided to buy myself a new house, well an old house but to me it was new. The process of buying and selling a house is stressful, but for me it was rewarding going through the process of making something your own. My house might not be the flashiest place on the street but my humble abode is mine. Never have the words from The Castle resonated more with me, “it’s not a house it’s a home” and “a mans home is his castle”. I’m going through the process of doing some cosmetic renovating to it to make it look a bit more modern and to have the style I want, which is taking time, but I am happy with it, it’s small but it’s everything I need :)
Panthers Grand Final
The night of the Panthers four peat
I still remember the excitement of the Panthers making the 2020 grand final having waited 17 years since the previous one. We were unlucky that night but we were fortunate enough to be back the year later for redemption, the year later we went back to back, not many people do that, a year later after a miraculous comeback we had the 3 peat, who would have imagined that, but to be coming back for a fifth year in a row and looking to make it four in a row was unimaginable. We were up against the Storm, the form team of the competition and the last team to beat us in a grand final. It was probably the most enjoyable of all the finals I have been to, we were in the Panthers supporter bay behind the posts, everyone was so happy and of all the teams to beat it was the Storm, a little slice of history. I’m not sure if or when we could see it again, but I’m going to keep enjoying them as if they were the last because you never know when the next one might be
Running 840km
2024 was my biggest ever year in terms of total running distance which is a bit surprising because I have felt that I’ve been fitter and faster before but it is probably reflective of some of the long runs I had done as well as the fact that a marathon was thrown in there as well. Why does this make my list? Well it’s the first time I have really looked at an annual volume figure for any of the sports I do and been proud of it and motivated by it as well. Within that 840km is also a 3 month period where I didn’t train due to injury so there is a good chance I could make 1000km if I had been fit for the whole year. As the saying goes “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”, for me my running in 2024 did start with just a short run and then built up throughout the year, it shows how consistently applying yourself can add up over time, and also gives me motivation for the year ahead.
So that’s a wrap of 2024 and here’s to a successful and goal oriented 2025
Michael