Complete Three Marathons
My plan was to train for a PB at the Kent Roadrunner Marathon while using the Brighton Marathon and Three Forts Marathon as training runs. The best laid plans and all that. The training was bang on track and I had a great time running Brighton as you can tell by the video that I made. I even managed my second sub-4 marathon without trying.
With hindsight I should have taken more time off after Brighton to recover as I rushed back and the soreness developed into niggles that disrupted the rest of my training. I also enjoyed Brighton too much and running didn’t seem the same again afterwards. The Three Forts was a tough slog through fog on hilly trails when I hadn’t put in enough training. Kent Roadrunner was a nightmare as the wheels imploded half way around and Other Dan laughed as he accompanied me through the misery.
Grade: C+
Goal achieved but not as enjoyable as it should have been.
Run My First Ultra
Running played second fiddle to life for the second half of 2015. I withdrew from the Salisbury 5-4-3-2-1 due to general tiredness and lethargy. Technically the Three Forts is longer than the classic marathon distance but it doesn’t make it an ultra in my book. In January 2015 I am taking place in the Country to Capital ultra. I haven’t trained properly, I’m back to ‘tubby’ status, and life continues to get in the way of running. I’m really looking forward to it.
Grade: F
Another entry for my big bag of FAIL.
Run a sub 1 hour 38 minute Half-Marathon
Head hung in shame. I ran the Great Bentley Half as part of my recovery from surgery and marathon training. I ran the Ealing Half without any training. Nowhere near a new PB.
Grade: F
Any space left in that big bag of FAIL?
Help The Son Complete His 50th parkrun
Last year I noted that it would be easier to find the Holy Grail than to get The Son out of bed on a Saturday morning to go running with me at parkrun. However, he was on 41 completed parkruns so how hard could it be to get him running 5km nine times through 2015? Near impossible it turns out. He ran at South Oxhey parkrun in January and then Gunnersbury parkrun in May. That’s it. Two parkruns completed for a total of 43 completed runs. I fought the bed and the bed won.
Grade: F
I may as well set a goal for 2016 that I’ll finish first at Bushy parkrun while running with my pet unicorn.
Complete All London parkrun Events
We’re still not Lon-done but not far to go. parkrun tourism has been good through the year and I enter 2016 with 70 completed events and 9 to complete the Lon-done set. Tomorrow I’m meeting Other Dan to run Llyod pakrun and Bromley parkrun as a New Years Day double.
Grade: B-
So close but so far.
Continue to Volunteer
I loved volunteering through 2015. At times I have up running so I could volunteer more. My Sunday longs runs became shorter so I could volunteer at Pitshanger junior parkrun, I took photos at Summer League rather than run, and I dropped out of the Eagles 10k so I could shadow the run director and take over the reigns in 2016.
Grade: A-
Loved, loved, loved volunteering.
Run and Blog Through Juneathon
Ahem. Nothing to see here. Carry on moving.
Grade: F
Blogging about anything was generally a failure. Editing together GoPro video failed. Running failed.
Lose 10kg of Weight
Boom! Weight lost through exercise and eating a healthy balanced diet. Boom! I was slim and zipping my way round races. Then I lost my running mojo and put it all back on with extra whipped cream and a cherry on top. Why is bacon sooooooooooooooo nice?
Grade: D-
It’s not rocket science is it? Eat a healthy balanced diet and exercise. I’ve done this twice now and yo-yo’d back to where I started.
Run a sub 20 parkrun 5k
Seriously? Was I smoking crack when I set my 2015 goals? My PB stays at 21:48 from *cough* February 2013 a million years ago and my fastest time from 2015 is *ahem* 23:34. It’s easy to know how to run fast but it ain’t gonna happen unless you train for it. I’m going to look in the mirror and give myself a stern talking to for 2016.
Grade: F
I need a bigger boat. A bigger boat to hold my big bag of FAIL.
Run a sub 45 10k
It would help if I ran a 10k race in 2015 to record a result. No training, no racing, and no result.
Grade: F
Nothing to see here on the good ship FAIL.
Blog Throughout the Year
Nope. Shakes head in disgust.
Grade: D-
Some new posts. A heap of incomplete draft posts. A couple of videos.
Enjoy Running with a Smile on my Face
The one goal that I did fully meet. I might not have run as much as I would have like but when I did, there was always a smile and I was always happy. Even on the bad runs (and don’t let anyone tell you that there aren’t bad runs).
I have said that life has got in the way this year. Family, friends, and work. Tragedy experienced across all of them. In all honesty it’s been a tough year. The toughness that bites into your soul and continues kicking you even when you’re down. I’ve learned to truly appreciate how important it is to keep your family around you, to spend time with relatives, and to help everyone stay healthy.
Grade: B+
Group hug.
