It’s the start of a new year, so it’s an apposite time to review my progress and state my goals for 2014.
I’m hoping that 2014 will be the year that I achieve some elusive PBs, with a 5k PB being at the top of my wish list. Here’s how I did in 2013:
- 5k: 25:14 (PB: 25:08)
- 5 mile: 45:16 (PB: 43:21)
- 10k: 52:02 (PB: 51:06)
- 10 mile: 87:44 NEW PB!
- Half marathon: 2:00:46 (PB: 1:52:19)
- 20 miles: 3:27:03 (PB: 3:02:44)
- Marathon: 4:29:33 NEW PB!
I started 2013 with a RunBritain handicap of 17.6 (from a low of 17.0); it increased to 20.2 by mid November, however, my current handicap is 19.3. I’d like to run more consistently this year, so that my handicap does not get worse.
So, although the year doesn’t feel like it was very successful, I did achieve two PBs! I also completed a duathlon, two aquathlons and two triathlons, and I ran in 57 races/events:
- 30 x parkruns
- 5 x CC6s
- 9 x RR10s
- 2 x 5 mile races
- 3 x 10k
- 3 x 10 mile
- 2 x half marathon
- 1 x 20 miles
- 2 marathons
I’ve planned up until the end of September, so I think I’ve enough goals to keep me going for some time!
January
- CC6 05/01/14
- Stubbington 10k 19/01/14
February
- CC6 09/02/14
- Bramley 20 mile 16/02/14
- Charlton Duathlon (Andover) 23/02/14
March
- CC6 02/03/14
- Salisbury 10 mile 09/03/14
- Winchester Duathlon 16/03/14
- Eastleigh 10k 23/03/14
April
- Brighton marathon 06/04/14
- Wiggle New Forest Spring Sportive (58 miles) 12-13/04/14
- Good Friday Triathlon (sprint) 18/04/14
- Lymington Triathlon 27/04/14
May
- Pyrenees triathlon holiday 01-08/05/14
- Portsmouth Duathlon (3) 11/05/14
- Netley 10k 18/05/14
- Eastleigh aquathlon 29/05/14
June
- Wiggle Bournemouth Sportive (48) 07/06/14
- D-Day 10k 08/06/14
- Big Cove Swim 22/06/14
- Eastleigh aquathlon 26/06/14
- Eastleigh Open Water Tri 28/06/14
July
- GU Energy Classic 13/07/14
- Big Cove Swim 20/07/14
- Thunder Run 26-27/07/14
- Eastleigh aquathlon 31/06/14
August
- Weymouth Classic 17/08/14
- Salty Sea Dog Long Swim (2.5 or 3.8k) 23/08/14
- Eastleigh aquathlon 28/07/14
September
- Challenge Weymouth 70.3 14/09/14
- Eastleigh aquathlon 25/09/14
- HOWSC 100 28/09/14
I’ve joined a few challenges on Strava – if you also use Strava, please feel free to follow me: http://app.strava.com/athletes/3382889 I’m also hoping that I can promote healthy living more widely, so I’ve applied to become a brand ambassador for a company that means a lot to me – I’ll let you know how that turns out! I’m also going to add a couple more pages to my blog – watch out for them!
My blogging started back in February, just before my 35th birthday, as I wanted to motivate myself to achieve more in life before I turn 40. Has my blog been a success? Well, that depends on how the success of a blog is measured. For what it’s worth, my blog currently has 68 followers. It has had 5488 views and 77 comments. I’m going to be working on improving those stats in 2014, so that my blog has greater reach – I’ll also be trying to post more regularly as I know I was pretty slack in December.
My 10 most viewed posts this year were:
The posts which generated the most comments were:
Please do comment on what I write – I love reading your comments and always respond!
I thought it would be interesting to see how I’m doing with the running tips posted by Fit for 365:
- Plan – yep, I’m all about the planning!
- Be realistic – if I follow my plans, I should be able to get a PB at Brighton marathon and I should be able to complete Challenge Weymouth 70.3, although that’s still a terrifying goal
- Be patient – I’ve been as patient as I can be when it comes to running. I don’t think I have unrealistic expectations, but I’m desperate for a 5k PB.
- Gait analysis – I’ve had this done before and I’m happy with my running shoes… although I’d love another pair of Brooks Cadence.
- Mileage increases – I think my plan gives me a sensible schedule for increasing my mileage.
- Warm up and cool down – unfortunately, too often my warm up is just a jog, so I need to work on this. I also need to be really good about stretching when I’ve finished. I’m hoping that I’ll get back to yoga in 2014.
- Stretch – see above
- Rest – I’m terrible about scheduling in rest days. Maybe I really will manage this in 2014!
- Listen to your body – I’ve not had any specific injuries this year (thank goodness), so I don’t know how good I am at this!
- Never compare yourself to others – I can’t help being competitive. It’s incredibly frustrating that the women I coach are all improving faster than me, but I think that’s the problem with being a coach. I am going to step back from coaching for two months before my half iron tri as I want to give myself a fair chance.
- Enjoy your running – I’ll try!
What are your goals for 2014?
Fat Girl to Ironman 
Thanks for mentioning my post, good luck with your goals!
No problem, John – I’ve voted for you in the 2014 blog awards as well 🙂
Nice one, I appreciate it! 🙂
I love reading your blogs. I don’t no how you do everything that you do. My main goal this year is to try and run a marathon. Some days I don’t even think I can. I don’t blame you taking a step back to think about your self for once. You do a fantastic job with the club so don’t take a step to far back will you lol. I love the tips you give us so if you have any marathon tips please feel free to share. Good luck with your cycling and triathlons you are one awesome lady. Keep up the good hard work.
Thanks, Loraine. I could say the same back to you – I don’t have any children/grandchildren to look after, so when I’m not working, I can do whatever I like 😉 Have you planned out your marathon training schedule yet? I think the most important thing is to find a good group of people to do your long runs with. If you ever have to miss some training, don’t try to catch up by adding onto everything else in your schedule, just move on and do whatever comes next for you 🙂
Go for it!
Thank you 🙂
Looks like a big year you have planned. Can’t wait to read all about it. I like that you respond to comments … I make a habit of doing the same. Some bloggers don’t bother to respond and I have to admit it sometimes puts me off taking the time to comment. The responses create the community more than the posts do 🙂
It feels rude (and a little bit arrogant) not to… I usually feel bad if I can see on my phone that someone has commented, but I’m at work and can’t log on and reply. If someone has been kind enough to acknowledge what I’ve written (even if they’re disagreeing with me) then it would be discourteous to ignore that!
Having read your plans for 2014 (and followed what you did in 2013), I’m definitely going to have a go at an Audax event, and may even try an adventure race 🙂