2010 - A Review

So here we are on 31st of December 2010 and another year is about to come to an end. As good a time as any to review what has happened in the previous year and to look forward to the coming year and the new challenges that it will bring.

So first off, lets look back to some numbers for 2010.

Total Miles - 1100.33
PB's - 2 (5K and half marathon)

So that's some of the numbers for 2010. I'm particularly proud of my total miles for the year. To reach 1100 miles for one year is something I'm really happy about.

Much more important for than any of the stats above is a personal revelation. This year (actually on the 7th of November this year!) I felt as if I became a 'real' runner. It was on the this date that I set my latest half marathon pb, 1:27:41.

Now, i've set pb's before but this one was different. For one, I took over 5 minutes off my previous pb which was only set in September of this year at the Great North Run. But more importantly for me was how I came to achieve this time. Up until the GNR this year I pretty much just 'ran' but for the Buchlyvie half marathon on the 7th of November I did two things differently. I started to run a specific hills session (even though the race route was pan flat) in order to build strength in my legs and secondly I ran a significant section (up to 50%) of my long runs at or close to my predicted race pace.

When I realised just how fast I'd managed to run the 13.1 miles I was over the moon and after some thought I realised that the changes I'd made to my training were really paying dividends. Moving on from this revelation I decided that I was going to have a real go at getting under 3:30 for a marathon in 2011

My time at London this year (4:01:04) is really disappointing to me. I know I can get a sub 3:30 and that is exactly what I plan to do at the Lochaber marathon on the 10th of April next year. I've put together a training program with this as the goal and I fully expect to achieve it, as well as some others.

2011 Goals

1. Sub 3:30 for the Lochaber marathon
2. Sub 40 minutes for a 10K (a race distance I've neglected this year)
3. To run 10 Parkruns
4. To blog more often!
5. To run over 1200 miles
6. To complete 100 consecutive push-ups

So there it is, my goals for the coming year, guess I'd better get working towards them now!

I hope everyone out there has a great New Year when it comes and that it brings you and your families all that you wish for.

Slainte