2013 Review

At the start of the year I posted a few goals for 2013, so as it's New Year's Eve it seems a good time to have a bit of a think back over the running year.

I've had some successes, and other things came in which changed the nature of my running a bit.

- Get down consistently below 13 stone.  I have done this comfortably, although I haven't obsessed about it.  It's just kind of happened, with a couple of tweaks to my eating/drinking and increasing of exercise.

- Be wary of my alcohol intake and go for "streaks" of being teetotal (probably between holiday times).  I'm afraid I failed on this except for the first few months of the year, although my intake generally has vastly reduced compared to previous years.  This has helped with the above weight goal.

- Crack a 1:45 for a half marathon.  This was my main time challenge for 2013, and I managed this twice, so I have to be pleased with that.  There were however two other races where I had aimed to go under 1:45 and I failed, so this 1:45 time still isn't a given for me.  On the other hand, I think I've got more in me so this is kind of a mixed bag really.

- My blog says "Get around a full marathon and actually enjoy it (unlike London 2010)!! A time of sub-4:30 would be great...", so I did actually do this with a 4:08, however off of a 1:42 half this is a weak time.  So, I'm pleased I got close to that 4hr mark, but I didn't break it.  I can't even really say I'll definitely do it in 2014, as I so far haven't entered any.

- Get under 45mins for a 10K.  I did this with a 43:40, so no complaints there, although I thought this was going to be toughest time target.  According to Macmillan, this is my "best" time, which is a bit strange and points to a lack of endurance at longer distances.  On a "fair" course, I did Sunday's 10K and also went under 45mins.

- Keep it going with the Trotters (running club).  I did this, and this is a big part of the reason for any running improvement I've had, along with the weight loss.  I also marshalled at 4 events, which I really enjoyed.

- Rack up 1200-1500 miles in the year.  This was more of a measure of consistency and to see if I could stay injury free (i.e., 30 miles a week on average for a year) and I managed this.  I've just checked Garmin Connect and I've done 1624 this year.  Now I know this isn't massive mileage by any stretch, but it's the most consistent I've ever been so I've got to be happy with this (which I am!).

- Keep my back healthy!!!  This was the last goal, but I noted it was also the most important and (touch wood!) I seem to have done that after big problems in 2011.


Two things that kind of crept up on me that weren't on the radar at the start of the year were a) parkrun and b) off road running.

Parkrun is just brilliant and I'll try and keep them going.  I've done 19 this year, with my first being in June.  For next year, I'm not going to put a target number on this as with the amount of races I'm hoping to do I don't expect I'll get that many done, but I do enjoy them and I will get along when I can.

Offroad has been a relatively late introduction to me.  My regular parkrun is off road terrain, but it's fine in the summer/dry.  However, in the rain it's a mud bath.  Due to this I bought some trail shoes and have since done 2 "proper" off road races.  I always shied away from off road, but due to me getting into it a bit means I can have a go at the club championship next year, which is one of my main goals.

As well as the club championship my other main goal is to see if I can get under 1:40 for a half, so we'll see how that goes.

So in summary, I think I've had a good year where I've enjoyed my running although I'm disappointed with my marathon time.  Although not quick, my lower distances are better than my higher distances (according to Macmillan), which can only be that I lack endurance, so that's something to look at.  I've had PBs at all my distances too, which is a good sign:
5K - 21:29
10K - 43:40
Half: 1:42:02
Marathon: 4:08:12