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Year of the Franc – 9th Edition

Posted by on 31. December 2014

Life is all about finding ways to get things done.

2014 was less turbulent as the previous one and in fact, you can call it a good one.  It started with uncertainties and challenges, had its share of milestones and victories and ended up on a high note.  It was a great year and looking forward to even better times in 2015.

Read about:

Year of the Franc

I’ve been writing “Year of the Franc” post for 9 years now and the longer it goes, the harder it is to define a good year.   The longer it goes, the stronger I get. It just shows that everything happens for a purpose and it prepares us for even bigger challenges ahead. Life isn’t a walk in the park and that’s how I can tell my year was, it was not a walk in the park.  It’s always a challenge managing all my interests from my work, my runs, my blogs and of course, my personal life.  It’s like having several jobs but as they say, you can’t find time, you make time. 

Everything Starts at Home

My mom’s health was a challenge during the first part of the year.

I haven’t shared much about this except to a few close friends. 2013 ended and 2014 started on a scary note since my Mom had breast cancer and the first part of the year was the most critical part.  My finances were dwindling from all the treatments and medicines but my finances eventually endured getting past her chemotherapy and radiation treatment.  Now, she’s on the road to recovery and that makes the struggle worth it.  I guess money can always be earned but family comes first.  For me, I’m starting to build up my savings once again.  Looking forward to healthier times.

There’s Nothing Like Your First

Finishing my first marathon and being able to tell people about it in a Runner’s World Philippines feature.

I finished my first marathon in 2014 and yes, there’s nothing like your first.  I’m glad it was TBR Dream Marathon as it had everything from the build up to the actual race.  I took a scenic route towards this from Baguio, Siargao, Angkor Wat and Corregidor.  The journey itself was character strengthening and life changing.  After crossing the finish line, you end up a stronger person.  It was such a big bonus that I was able to write about my first Marathon at Runners’ World Philippines and that ticks off two things on my bucket list.

FrancRamon.Com is Flying High

Winning the Best Personal Blog were among the highlights of the year.

Everything I have now in this blog was something I never expected and so was being awarded by DigitalFilipino.com as the top personal sites. It was an honor to be side by side with top blogs and Filipino Websites and this just proves that you can’t be too small to make a difference.  Site traffic has doubled from last year with now more than 20K page views per month.  I’m growing the site slowly and in time, I’ll be adding some niche and new topics on this site.  I’m eternally grateful for the consistent support from people following this site. I hope you grow in number and Thank you!!!

#TaleOfTheTrail

Now Featuring #TaleOfTheTrail

Because I’ve fallen in love with trails, I’ve added the #TaleOfTheTrail in my site.  It’s the lighter side of the trail.  It’s a noncompetitive look at trails and how anybody can really go explore the trail.  I was able to feature the Dragon’s Back of Hong Kong which had a tough climb at the start and a long descent all the way to the beach.  I was also able to feature Camp John Hay trails which is one of the easier trails to explore rich with Baguio’s pine tree and mountain views.  I was also able to feature Mt. Talamitan which was a tough 16K forest trails with a rewarding view at the peak of Mt Talamitam in the middle of the course.  Exploring trails is really fun and refreshing and the views you get are just amazing.  I hope to feature more trails soon.

Run Franckee Run

Running Never Ends

22 races and about 375 kilometers.  That’s how much mileage I had on the roads and the trails with distance varying from 3K, 5K, 10K, 12K, 15K, 21K, 22K, 24K, 32K and a full marathon. My total mileage for the year including training mileage is more than 1600 kilometers.  Running never ends and it’s a lifestyle now.  Whether it’s chasing personal records, conquering new milestones or just having fun, running is a part of me and here’s my looking forward to more trails and roads to run in 2015.  I do hope to drag some of my friends in this lifestyle in 2015.

And a little bit of Travel

Travel a little.

I didn’t travel much this year except for a board meeting in Singapore in April, a short vacation in Hong Kong in July, covering Ironman event in Cebu in August and another short vacation in Bohol in December.  Singapore was a quick one since it was for work.  I was able to try out the Dragon’s Tail Trail and visit Discovery Bay while I was in Hong Kong.  I had fun supporting friends in Cebu conquering their Ironman 70.6 distance, which was tiring as well as I also had to do media duties.  I was able to bike on air and enjoy the facilities of Bellevue in Bohol.  I should definitely have more travel in 2015.

And here’s to 2015

2007 meters above sea level

I’ve been sick for the last two days and and because of that I missed radar run yesterday, which is an 8K climb worth 500+ meters of elevation.  As I said, Life is about finding ways to get things done so  I did a solo radar run today and endured on ’til I reached the top the get the feel of being on top of the world, about 2007 meters above sea level, before the year ends. With that I end 2014 on a feisty note and start 2015, ready for anything!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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