Thursday 31 December 2009

And finally.....

In January this year I set a mileage total on Fetch of 1000 miles. Easy I thought, 20 miles a week should do it. At the end of January, having done my 40 mile Birthday run, I was already 45miles ahead of target. This was one goal I wouldn't have a problem achieving. I was confident, perhaps overly so. Now I know I'm always harping on about my broken ankle, it was a big deal after all so give me a break right? (perhaps not a literal one......) Well, when that happened I slowly saw the extra miles being eaten away to the point where I was about 120 miles behind. Even after the ankle was all better, the numbers of miles I was running hardly touched the deficit.

As "luck" would have it, I had already entered Loch Ness Marathon in December 2008. This gave me the perfect opportunity to ramp up the miles and claw my way back. By December I was ahead of target again by about 30 miles. When Fiona introduced me to the Marcothon (running every day in December minimum of 3 miles/25mins whichever came first) getting to 1000 was going to be a breeze.

Funny how life has a nasty habit of throwing crap at you just when you least expect it. This time it came in the form of a chest infection which knocked me for six for a week or so and stopped me in my tracks for 12 days. The Marcothon challenge was a gonner and the 1000 mile target was heading in a similar direction. That, coupled with the stupidest weather the Fife Riviera has seen in a long time (snow, ice, snow, ice, ice and more ice....) was making this a challenge to be fought to the bitter end.

So nothing like cutting it fine, after trudging through the snow, squelching through the slush and skating around the ice this last week, it came down to the final run on the final day of the year to put it in the bag. A social run with a few club members initially organised for Dalmeny estate was altered about half a mile in due to more stupid ice, making conditions underfoot treacherous to say the least. We headed instead towards Hopeton House, mainly along the cleared and gritted roads (Fife Council take note.....) and celebrated on the return journey with hugs and congratulations as my watch read 4.4miles, the balance due, with an extra 1.5 at the end for good measure.
Phew!

Wednesday 23 December 2009

That was the year that was........

....12 PBs and a broken ankle.....

1 January - Portobello Promathon (4 miles) 31:42 PB
18 January - East District XC Dunfermline (6k?) 37:32
24 January - Devil's Burden Relay (Leg 1) 75ish minutes
24 January - Devil's Burden Relay (Leg 4) 60ish minutes
31 January - 40th Birthday run (40 miles!!) 9ish hours
12 February - BROKEN FECKIN ANKLE FFS!!!
4 April - Scottish Road Relays (3.2miles) 28:31
30 April - Kinross 10k 54:54
9 May - Cateran Trail Relay Race (Leg 1) 77ish minutes
17 May - Strathallan 5 Mile Road Race (5 miles) 43:49
22 May - Black Rock 5 (4.5 miles) 39:58
18 June - Carnegie Harriers Time Trial (3 miles) 23:06 PB
25 June - Milnathort Dash (5.5 miles) 43:31 PB
1 July - Brig Bash (5 miles) 40:07 PB
3 July - Friday Night Series (1 mile) 7:42
17 July - Beveridge Park 5k 25:04 PB
29 July - Tour of Fife Day 1 (Chicken Run 5 miles) 40:23
30 July - Tour of Fife Day 2 (Beach Race 4 miles) 30:20 PB
31 July - Tour of Fife Day 3 (Uphill time trial 2.25km) 17:45 PB
1 August - Tour of Fife Day 4 (Forest Race 5 miles) 40:05 PB
2 August - Tour of Fife Day 5 (Trail Race 3.7m) 33:26
9 August - Forth Road Bridge 10k 49:57 PB
20 August - Graham Clark Memorial Race (3.9m) 29:57 PB
6 September - Great Scottish Run Half Marathon 1:53:21 PB
27 September - East Neuk 10k 49:20 PB
4 October - Loch Ness Marathon 4:02:27
24 October - Scottish XC Relays (4km) 29:20
7 November - Tinto Hill Race (4.4miles) 60:23
14 November - Braid Hills XC (3 miles) 27:53

So for a girl with a broken ankle, I managed to fit in the odd race with a PB or 2 to boot. I also managed a 2nd F placing in one of the Friday Night Series 1 mile races but by default rather than talent. I also managed 2nd F40 at the club's road running Grand Prix, again because I happened to turn up but hey someone's got to......

Highlights for 2009 then:
  • The 40 mile birthday run is the achievement I'm most proud of. Going from a maximum training run of 14 miles to 40 was something else but I have a lot to thank the company for.
  • Getting under 50mins for a 10k not once but twice!
  • Getting under 2 hours at the Glasgow half.
  • Loch Ness marathon - the training itself was joyous to do and it makes me think that longer distances are more my thing than shorter ones
Despite the good bits however there were some very low points but I'm not going to dwell on them right now. Overall, I can take a lot of positives from the year and look ahead to 2010 with a fresh enthusiasm.

So what will 2010 bring? Well, having enjoyed the training for Loch Ness so much I'm planning on doing the Highland Fling (53 miles of the West Highland Way). I do like a challenge after all. Training for this will be tough with the complications of life getting in the way of training but at the point where my legs feel like giving up, I'll be relying on my head leading the way.