2024 in review

Posted on: 16 January 2025

It feels good to start the year with another year in review post. My third now. Reflecting on goals set 12 months ago is a good way to analyse personal progress and reassess changes in priorities.

Journalling continues to be a mainstay in my life, and alongside it, tracking my consumption and vital stats. I’m approaching 4 years of journalling daily.

Running has dominated my year, and has positioned itself as the main focus in my life. Running 6-7 times a week has been a common occurrence this year, and I notice a dip in my mental health when I don’t get my scheduled run in.

My personal life

Once again, no big, unexpected changes this year. The biggest planned one was my eldest, Brandon, starting school. Such a big change in routine can bring trepidation, but we’ve settled into a familiar cycle now. Ever since having kids, I had always envisaged walking my children to and from school. Fortunately my work situation allows me to do this half the week. The 10 pick-ups and drop-offs are shared equally between my wife Charlotte and me. Seeing the excitement my son gets going into and coming out of school is heart-warming. Equally, starting the morning off with a gentle walk has improved my quality of life.

My youngest, Alba, has developed hugely in the past 12 months. Now 3, she’s feisty and independent, with a love for dresses, dolls and unicorns. Interests so cliche, I might’ve rolled my eyes, but it feels different when it’s your own. Somehow it still feels original and authentic to her little personality.

Financially we’ve been able to loosen up a little compared to last year. A pay rise and reductions in childcare have afforded us more breathing room to look ahead and plan. Unexpected costs like bamboo removal and a new clutch for the car has eaten into our plans for the year, but fortunately we have the savings to cover them.

Charlotte has started her own fitness journey this year, signing up to Brighton Half Marathon 2025. Twice-weekly runs and swim sessions have become commonplace, causing our evening schedule to become a little congested. I'm proud of her, competing in her first race since having kids.

Trips included Center Parcs in February, and the Brecon Beacons in July, plus lots of day trips. Climbing mountains with the kids in Wales was a particular highlight of the year.

I attended 10 Chelsea football matches, 2 more than last year's total. 8 at Stamford Bridge, 1 at Wembley and 1 at the Amex Stadium.

Work

I’ve enjoyed my work in 2024. Leading the rebuild project for a lot of our internal fulfillment systems has kept me busy for a lot of the year. I’ve learned this year I can get quite obsessive compulsive about the details of code and project management in general. This has its benefits but drawbacks when you don’t always see eye-to-eye with your team.

I’ve really enjoyed delving into the modern features of Ruby on Rails. I blogged about the challenges around porting an old codebase to new. Fixing old bugs and leaving behind ugly, inefficient code has been a fulfilling experience.

One area I need to improve is documentation. Little and often. READMEs are a chore to put together, but considerably less so when done bit-by-bit when the knowledge is fresh.

I talked about work 159 times in my journal in 2024, 7 more than in 2023.

Social

I tagged “social” in my journal 176 times in 2024, up from 161 last year. The year’s total social events broke down as:

• 24 events in homes (not just ours)
• 31 sport meet-ups (running mostly, not including regular Monday night football)
• 16 at pubs, cafes or restaurants
• 17 organised events (football matches, races)
• 14 outdoors
• 7 kids play

At the end of the year we finally bit the bullet and signed up as National Trust members. We always enjoy our trips to various local National Trust sites, and having a membership should encourage us to explore more often.

Fitness

In 2024 I hit record highs across fitness. This was by the far the area of my life I dedicated the most time and effort to. My running levelled up again after recovering from injury suffered at the tail end of 2023. I was able to keep a regular regimen of strength training, and learn to enjoy it. And I resumed bouldering midway through the year, after a 5-6 year break!

I averaged 17,400 steps/day for the year, up from 15,100k in 2023. Last year I tried consciously to hit 10,000 steps a day every day. I failed on 8 days, and there were some days where I just scraped over the target. I decided this year I wouldn’t try to hit an arbitrary daily target again, and I’ve felt better for it. Averaging more a day because of it just shows how pointless an “every day” target is. Consistency rules, and beats perfection. Some days a rest is way more beneficial than hitting an arbitrary step goal.

Football

I attended 43 Monday Night Football games, exactly the same as 2023! Thursday’s match fell by the wayside; I only managed 5 games, all in the first half of the year. A boost in fitness this year from increasing my running helped massively in football. I didn’t feel limited at all in my effort and I found recovery much quicker after games. I won 26 out of 40 competitive matches, a new record for me.

As the year progressed, I went from a small 3-4km run warm up pre-game to a 7-10km run earlier in the day. This shows a growing resillience as my body gets used to increasing volume.

Strength training

I set a target last year to continue with regular strength work and be consistent with it. I didn’t end up continuing with the 5x5 workout, for reasons I touched on in this post: My first 3 months doing the 5x5 workout as a runner. However I did settle into a rhythm of similiar exercises, once a week and with less emphasis on progressive overload.

Alongside this, I try to do a 30 minute bodyweight strength & mobility workout. These two workouts won’t give me the aesthetic gains I was originally after, but I’m OK with that. As important as progressive overload is to building strength, maintaining strength & mobility in key areas is just as vital in running. I’m a long distance runner, I’m going to be lean (stringy). I can’t have it both ways and instead decided to focus at the moment on running gains.

Bouldering

I was really pleased to return to bouldering in the second half of the year. I went 15 times in total, at a cadence of around twice a month. I’ve really enjoyed the social aspect and reconnecting with old friends. I was surprised with how quickly I was able to get back to the climbing level I was at in 2019 when I last bouldered. I enjoy the competitive aspect of trying to better myself. I also see it as a good whole-body workout and useful for improving strength and mobility.

One of my goals for this year was to “embrace cross-training”, and bouldering comes under this bracket.

Cycling

I didn’t cycle a tonne this year, but managed more than last year. 270km in total, with 6 “proper” bike rides of reasonable length. I enjoy cycling still, but like a lot of things this year, this is a hobby that has fallen into the shadow of running. But it was an activity I was able to enjoy in the summer months as I dialled back my running slightly.

Running

I ran over 3,140km in 2024. This smashed last year’s total of 2,220km and my target for the year of 2,500km. It was a big year. But it began in a somewhat downtrodden mood. I was injured, and not really enjoying my running. In January I started a rehab programme for my diagnosed hamstring tendinopathy. Caused by overloading a muscle that wasn’t strong enough.

This ended up being arguably a blessing in disguise, as it kickstarted the healthy habit of listening to my body and strengthening it. The first few weeks of the year were hard, progress was slow. I was slowly able to build back up to 50k weeks, running 4-5x a week. I was able to run Brighton Half Marathon in 1:34:33 at the end of February. Although it was not the time I was hoping for a few months back, it was a really solid, enjoyable run and pain-free.

I went from strength-to-strength after this, running Lewes 10k at the beginning of April. A slip-slidey course on tricky terrain, but another race I was able to be competitive in and end feeling strong. I ran a 44:33 on quite a long course!

4 weeks later I ran Haywards Heath 10 Mile, a race I ran last year as part of the Mid Sussex Marathon. I used this race as a barometer for my fitness to see how close I was to cracking 90 minutes in the Half Marathon. I came into this race off the back of some high 60k weeks of decent training, and ran a strong 1:07:53, 4.5 minutes quicker than last year. A real confidence booster for me and a great local race in the community.

At the end of May I made my first purchase of carbon “super shoes” (albeit last year's model). They were a used pair of Saucony Endorphin Pro 3s with about 100 miles on them. It felt like my first step into the big leagues, and what a first step it would prove to be.

A few weeks later, I ran my a new 5k PB at Hove Parkrun, 19:07, smashing my previous PB of 19:43 set almost a year prior. The benefit from the shoes was immense, physically and mentally. But more than that, I felt I was back to my best, and hungry for more. I only had 2 weeks to wait until my next race, a targeted goal race, Worthing 10k. I ran my current 10k PB there last year, 41:59. This year, I had aspirations to go sub-40.

Training had been really good on the lead up to this and I went in confident. I raced it perfectly to plan and came out with a new PB of 39:32. I was stoked. The 40 minute 10k milestone always felt like a big one for me.

In July I ran another 5k PB, this time at Preston Park, running a 19-flat. So close to a sub-19. 4 weeks later I finally ran that sub-19. At Hove Prom Parkrun I ran an 18:42 and truly surprised myself again. Before the end of the year, I went on to break this twice more, running an 18:20 at Hove Prom, and 18:19 at the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5k race in November.

I also competed in a relay fun run on Hove Prom in July, called the Weakest Link. This was an evening event during the summer and was a lot of fun running fast with friends as a team.

My final goal race of the year was Oxford Half Marathon. I’d signed up earlier in the year and earmarked this one as the sub-90 attempt. However after the 10 mile race in May I knew 90 minutes was too conservative a target. My 5k and 10k times had me on an equivilant 1:27 half marathon, so this was the target I set for myself and trained at.

I covered in detail how I’ve utilised stats to improve my running this year, and this helped me devise my own training plan for Oxford Half. I logged each week of my training in excruciating detail on my blog, setbacks and all. In short, the training block went really well. I could see my progression as a runner both in stats and out there on the roads. I felt stronger and fitter with each passing week.

I went into the race full of confidence and focussed on laying down a strong marker of my fitness. I had a great race, pacing a negative split and beating my target of 1:27 by over a minute to come in at 1:25:57. I was over the moon.

Capitalising on fitness gains during the Half Marathon block, I entered a 10k race in Lancing last minute and was blessed with perfect weather. I surpassed all expectation, finishing in 38:10, a new 10k PB by almost 80 seconds.

I finished the year with my eye on my 2025 marathon. I started increasing volume and lowering intensity to increase my base fitness whilst minimising injury risk. A couple of decent 70-80k weeks meant I finished the year around the same fitness level I was going into Oxford. A great place to begin a winter marathon build in 2025.

Parkrun

A special mention to the wonderful free event that is Parkrun. I got really into Parkrun tourism this year. More so than any other year anyway. I visited 12 different locations in total, 8 for the first time. I took my PB from 19:43 to 18:20, and participated in a record 26 Parkruns in 2024. This brings my overall tally up to 97.

I also broke my volunteering duck. First by timekeeping whilst recovering from injury in February, and 2 further times as a 25-minute pacer.

Health

2024 was a healthy year all-in-all, a big improvement on 2023. I was ill for just 5 days all year, a big reduction on 10 days in 2023. The majority of these days were in the first half of the year. I have read improved fitness can bolster your immune system. I also started taking vitamin C & zinc supplements this year, along with Vitamin D and B12, so this may be a contributing factor.

I made the switch from my tried and tested Vivo Life protein powder to Huel Black. I didn’t have any qualms with Vivo Life, except it was expensive, but Huel offered the complete package. I now use it as supplemental way of getting calories as well as the protein required for recovering after a hard workout.

Getting over my injury at the start of the year was tough. There were times of frustration, especially with no end in sight. But it was a good lesson in patience and trusting in the process. It set solid foundations for the year and built some good habits. Seeing a physio gave me some purpose and kept my mood buoyed as I strengthened my hamstring and got back to fitness.

Overall it’s been fairly positive from the mental health front. I feel there have been fewer truly low days than in 2023. Getting on top of sleep has meant I’ve woken up with a brighter outlook more often.

Podcasts

Podcast listens once again took another big leap from the previous year. When will it end? From 588 hours in 2023 to 674 hours in 2024 (up 15%). On listened to over 20 hours one week, and averaged 11.3 hours a week.

There’s a direct correlation between increased walking and running volume and more podcast listen hours. I only listened to 10 new shows, less than last year, but more of those new shows became regular mainstays.

My top 5 shows by total listen time

1. ➖ The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett (42 episodes; 3 days, 12 hours) - holding firm at number one for a third year in a row. I’ve actually grown a little tired of the style and clickbaity subject matter as the year has progressed. Still some bangers now and again, and the long episodes have contributed to it remaining #1.
2. ⬆️ Deep Questions with Cal Newport (54 episodes; 3 days, 2 hours) - shortly behind Diary of a CEO, and moving up another place to second. I’m very regular with Cal. The format doesn’t change and the subject matter does get pretty samey, but I still dig the ideology behind this podcast.
3. 🆕 Running the Red Line (35 episodes; 2 days, 22 hours) - a new entry in the top 5. Just 35 episodes, 1 a week, but I tune in for every one of these mega long episodes. They’re not highly produced, and the co-hosts don’t take it too seriously at all. But there’s a warm familiarity about this pod, with some interesting run chat alongside the ever-present banter and nonsense.
4. 🆕 Football Cliches (86 episides; 2 days, 16 hours) - a new entry in the top 5, but a podcast I’ve listened to since the start. An absurdly regular posting schedule of twice a week, and excellent quality and consistency has propelled this up in my listens. It’s football chat, but not as you know it. It’s a shame they were bought out and now feature ads and sponsorship segments, but the guys deserve their success for such a well put together pod.
5. ➖ Money For Couples (43 episodes; 2 days, 6 hours) - rebranded from I will teach you to be rich. I’ve gone a little off the boil with this after a lot of listens earlier in the year. It’s informative and sometimes fascinating in the psychology around relationships and money. But perhaps its mileage is wearing a little thin for me.

Some new podcasts discovered this year:

1. Sweat Elite Podcast - Only discovered at the start of November, Matt Fox is a sub-elite marathoner with years of wisdom and a say-it-as-you-see it approach to life. He’s a little contentious in the running community, not everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoy his frankness and conciseness. Bags of running advice in these often brief but always informative episodes.
2. Life in Stride - Another new running podcast (there’s a theme this year). Casual and friendly, just a bunch of running pals talking to a guest about running. Can be a bit silly, but there’s tonnes of insight from some very good runners too.
3. Rally Caps - Co-hosted by Eric Floberg, one of my running YouTuber faves. Primarily photography & film focussed. Expertly produced by two seasoned creatives. A mixed bag of subject matter, but I love the chemistry and warmth of the co-hosts and occasional guests and production value in this.
4. The Run Testers - 4 guys review running gear, and talk running. Not a lot else to know about this. It’s informative, not overly charismatic and can get a bit silly.

TV

2024 saw a reduction in TV watch time; down from 149 hours in 2023 to 125 (-17%). Just 45 hours of non-sport television (down from 85 in 2023). Live football increased from 64 hours to 80 (+25%). I'm not sure what I attribute the reduction to. Charlotte and my tastes have diverged somewhat, which often leads to her watching series on her own.

TV show highlights

• 3 Body Problem (season 1) - A bit weird. Not entirely my style, but this had enough intrigue to keep me watching and curious about season 2.
• The Bear (season 3) - A disappointing third season all told, after 2 excellent first seasons. Retained some of the magic that propelled this show to stardom.
• Nightsleeper (season 1) - A gripping, if slightly far-fetched British short series about a train-hacking on a sleeper train from Scotland to London. Tense, with twists galore. Entertaining.
• Ludwig (season 1) - A really fun watch. Warm, nostalgic Jonathan Creek detective vibes to this, with a great big dollop of David Mitchell to cap it off. A bit silly at times, but I don’t think it took itself too seriously.

Films & books

I watched 27 films in 2024, 1 fewer than in 2023. It didn’t feel like a very big film year from my perspective. Charlotte and I went to the cinema once, to see Dune 2, which I didn’t love. Overall for the year, my average rating was only 3.39, down 8% from 3.68 in 2023.

A few film highlights

• Talk to Me, 2022
• Bullet Train, 2022
• Anatomy of a Fall, 2023
• Dumb Money, 2023

I read 12 books in 2024, 1 more than 2023. I introduced more fiction into my reading list, which I really enjoyed. I plan to read more fiction in 2025. Running books dominated the reading themes, counting for a third of the books I read. I started and finished the Wayward Pines trilogy by one of my favourite authors, Blake Crouch.

Blogging

I took my foot off the gas with blogging this year. I posted 19 times, down from 24 in 2023. However this was bolstered significantly by a 10-week series of posts I did around my Oxford Half Marathon training. On the whole I struggled for creativity and motivation around blogging this year.

Side projects

Virtually non-existent this year. As my running and fitness has stepped up, my time spent on the computer has reduced. I’ve had little motivation to start anything new or even continue tinkering with this site.

A couple of things I got round to adding to this site:

• A chart on the blog archive to show total posts by year
• Added “other” distance to my feed page to show cycling/football/swimming/etc weekly distance

Sleep

I continue to track my bedtimes in an effort to curb the bad behaviour of late nights. I’ve noticed the benefit in my training to getting a good night’s sleep. Having ever more intelligent and inquisitive growing children requiring your attention more and more has certainly highlighted this too.

What goals did I not meet in 2024?

Original post: samdking.co.uk/blog/2024-goals/.

Regular Strength Work

I touched on this above. Lifting weights 3 times a week, increasing weight indefinitely wasn’t working for me. It was taking up too much time, I was starting to dread the increases, and the likelihood of injury was too high.

But I naturally fell into a schedule that worked for me and my running. For now, once a week alongside a body weight strength & mobility workout works. It won’t give me the aesthetic gains I was after, but I’m OK with that. I’m a long distance runner, I’m going to lean (stringy).

Make some side money

Another year, another failure. I made zilch, beyond selling my old DSLR camera I no longer use.

Read more

Whilst I wasn’t able to accomplish my goal of one fiction book a month, I did read 7. And I enjoyed them all. I’d love to up the ante on this next year.

Foster my kids physical exploration

It’s been a good year for this. My son Brandon loves going anywhere on his bike or scooter. He’s also proficient enough on the former for me to cycle with him. We’ve gone on several small cycle rides together in 2024. I’d love to include my daughter Alba in this soon too. She’s yet to upgrade from the balance bike, but loves her scooter.

I haven’t broken Brandon into the football world properly yet, but I have plans to next year.

Make a plan for project cargo bike

Sadly, I made zero plans for this. Unforeseen expenses at the end of 2024 meant money was too tight to even imagine this coming to fruition. But I’m still keen.

Take more regular mental health relationship days

We didn’t do great at this, only hitting 2. Room for improvement as always!

Goals for 2025

To come in its own post.