At the end of every year I take some time to look back on the things that I did over the course of the last 12 months. Apps like Instagram have made it really easy to post photos from my day, so it’s like having an overview of the year if you post regularly. But year-end videos are awesome, too.
It’s why I created a summary slideshow back in 2013, and posted one again in 2014.
Things got interesting in 2015 when I realized I had a wealth of videos of myself running in various places. I had those videos because I’d take one when trying to create an action shot to post on Instagram. So I stitched them together into a very short piece, added some music, and that was that. In 2016 I started taking the videos on purpose for this year-end compilation.
All these little developments in my editing skill and presence of mind to capture videos have culminated in the 2017 edition of this kind of video. I’m super proud of it because I ran in so many places this year despite not being at peak health. Creating compilation videos like this allows me to reminisce what I’ve been through in the year, and then share these experiences with you.
As video has begun to be a bigger part of how I share my stories with the world, I’ve done that reminiscing on-camera.
Here are a few posts my vlog above referenced:
- Ho Chi Minh City Run
- Super League Triathlon Hamilton Island
- Star Wars Run SG
- Taiwan Birthday Trip
- Hong Kong Interlude
- Fun in Taiwan
- Angkor Wat International Half Marathon
2017 felt like a year that was trying to take off but just couldn’t pick up enough speed to do so, from overtraining plaguing me, to a new job that brought in too much stress and fed even further into the overtraining. But looking back on these videos that captured a few seconds out of really memorable runs, I’m reminded that it’s not all bad. To continue with the metaphor of “taking off” above, you don’t necessarily have to fly to get somewhere else. Slow travel on land might take longer, but you do see more things that you could miss flying high in the sky. And the same thing goes with the running; learning to slow down has allowed me to explore what I might just have run past because I was going too fast.
What is wonderful is that no matter how slow I’ve gone this year, I’m still able to engage in and enjoy running and triathlon, the sports I love. (Although I think triathlon has forgotten about me because I don’t do Ironman anymore, haha.)
I don’t know what’s in store for 2018, but I do know that running will still be a big part of it. I’m going to make sure of that.
you are an inspiration β€