2019 Go the Distance: Did you achieve your goal?

I'd didn't set a specific goal for 2019 either -- but stayed the course! I'm swimming 30 miles a week and running 30 miles a week. I've had to be very careful with stretching properly and taking care of my joints. I spent 2.5 years on chemo + radiation for stage IV prostate cancer. Now in remission 8 months and loving it. Swimming helped save my life! . Let me know if you want any hints on how to make waterproof dressings that can withstand prolonged swimming :-) Also found a solution for blisters on the ends of fingers from repetitive impact . 2020 is going to be amazing! Finally going to update breaststroke technique. Andy

I didn't really "set" a specific goal for year's end. But, my 2019 total swimming mileage is going to be about 85 miles more than 2018, and at almost 59 years old, it will actually be my highest mileage year of my life (swimming since my early 20s). About this time a year ago I decided that I would take part in an early August marathon swim. At just about seven miles, it would be my longest open water swim in several years, and longer by a couple of miles. Consequently, training up for it increased my weekly mileage. And, since that swim I've maintained a somewhat higher weekly mileage. My plan is to do the same swim again this coming summer, and maybe a longer one...so I'm already ahead on my training. (My annual bicycling mileage is going to be about 800 miles more, and my running miles also up by about 80 miles.) Dan

I set an initial goal of 60 miles, but well exceeded that and hit 101.46 yesterday morning! :) I will set it for maybe 120 next year, but who knows? Since I've more than doubled my yardage/workout from the beginning of the year, I could yet go further.

Andy, I am sure I am replying for all of us here, congrats on finishing your treatment for advanced prostate ca., and wish you the best of health. Also, share your *** stroke update, because I can surely use some help!

​+1 to arochest! Congratulations! You have a great outlook on life, so good on ya!

Nope, missed by a long shot. I got tendonitis in the ankle in July and had to go several months with scarcely any training. Swim-wise, a good year for me is 125 mi. This year I made it only 62. Likewise with biking, walking, etc., I only made about half my expected targets. The ankle is mostly healed now, so looking forward to more normal totals in 2020.

I've set a goal of 500 miles nearly since Go The Distance has been around (and there was a free suit at 500 miles :) ) Even though there's no longer a free suit, I've still set a goal of 500 miles. This year, I finished with just over 641 miles, my highest-distance year of swimming ever. I posted some thoughts and highlights over in my blog here: forums.usms.org/entry.php

Even though there's no longer a free suit, Did your suit come oddly packaged? I recall I received one on two separate occasions in the past and each time came in a huge box on a hanger...nice but so strange. 20 more than my goal...620.49 I always wondered about those over 2000 miles...do they just like to go long or does it help them swim faster...I'm assuming they are retired and have bionic shoulders??!! Happy 2020 everybody!

Did your suit come oddly packaged? I recall I received one on two separate occasions in the past and each time came in a huge box on a hanger...nice but so strange. 20 more than my goal...620.49 I always wondered about those over 2000 miles...do they just like to go long or does it help them swim faster...I'm assuming they are retired and have bionic shoulders??!! Happy 2020 everybody! Happy New Year Kurt! Yea, it was kind of an odd package. It was a very large box, sent from Jantzen I think, with the much smaller Nike box, and the suit inside that. Shipping must have been ridiculous, especially considering that a brief can almost fit in a normal envelope (well maybe a larger one). Maybe I'll talk to someone I know on the awards/recognition committee. Q Swimwear has all kinds of suit designs, and they'll do a custom one. I'd pay $20 for a suit that had something special about it (like said USMS GTD 2020). Q seems to have 50% off sales pretty regularly, and the briefs go for $20 during that (yea I know women's suits are more). But maybe we can get something going again. And I don't get people who swim even 1000 miles. That works out to 3 miles every day, with no days off (so no vacation, no sick days, and having a place to swim on holidays). 2000 miles would be 6 miles a day. My schedule is to swim about 5000 yards on Mon, Wed, and Fri. Tues/Thurs are gym days, but I finish up with 1000-1500 in the gym pool. Then when I'm building, I'll do a long swim on Sundays (maybe 4-6 miles) at Barton Springs. I hear you on the shoulders...I never had problems before I built up for Saguaro in 2019. Thankfully the cool water at Barton Springs helps quite a bit.

Happy New Year to you, too, Kurt! Regarding the two swimmers I mentioned that swam over 2,000 miles, I'll let you know after I interview them about it. Neither are retired, but I also wonder how their shoulders hold up! I hope to find out...