Review Of This Years Running

Well, this year is almost over, and I decided to just look back at what I've achieved over the last 12 months, and to decide what I am pleased with and what I am not so pleased with in regards to my running.

Twelve months ago I had not yet raced, was still around 16 stone in weight, and was running at around 9.30-10.00 m/m pace at best.

These are the race results I achieved in 2005:

16/01/2005, Dartford 10m, Dartford, Kent, 10 Miles, 81.38
27/03/2005, Stowmarket 10m, Stowmarket, Suffolk, 10 Miles, 76.53
12/05/2005, Witham RC 5k, Witham, Essex, 5K, 19.42
22/05/2005, Gt. Baddow 10m, Gt. Baddow, Essex, 10 Miles, 75.44
30/05/2005, Hatfield Broad Oak 10k, Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex, 10K, 42.27
05/06/2005, Dunmow 5m, Gt. Dunmow, Essex, 5 Miles, 35.05
10/06/2005, Springfield 5m, Springfield, Essex, 5 Miles, 35.17
23/10/2005, Wix 5m, Wix, Essex, 5 Miles, 35.12
13/11/2005, Stowmarket 7m, Stowmarket, Suffolk, 7 Miles, 49.43

Well, I was pleased with my race debut at Dartford, the finish time totally shocked me. Then Stowmarket filled me with a lot of confidence as I could see I was getting quicker. I then lost a month of training in March/April due to injury to my left knee, and this really set me back.

Then I got going again in mid-April and was shocked with how quickly I ran the 5k at Witham and the 10k at Hatfield Broad Oak. The Dunmow 5 mile race is very undulating, so again I was pleased with my progress, but a flatter course at Springfield with a slower time was a disappointment.

So we reach July, and I get a back problem, 3 months off work and off running, I feel like all the hard work I've done in the last year has gone down the drain, but, come the end of September, I am back training. Just 5 weeks back in to training and I race at the Wix 5 mile race and miss my pb by 7 seconds, and I am delighted with this effort. The stowmarket 7 mile race also goes well and I feel I am making good gains. Unfortunately I miss the Thanet Coastal 10m race in December due to flu, and I had hoped to record a sub 70 minute time.

Now we reach the end of the year. I have one race left this year, the Ely New Years Eve 10k where I hope to get close to my 10k pb, even though my training has not been great over the last 6 weeks due to illness and flu.

Next year I would really like to stay injury free as much as possible so I can train hard and set new pb's at all distances. I intend to train hard for, but also enjoy my training and the big day at the London Marathon in April. I need to work on my diet and get my weight down as I know this will pay huge dividends if achieved, but most of all I want to feel like I've enjoyed next years running and made even more new friends in the process.