Blimey, where did 2011 go? Maybe it’s because I ran so fast that it all seems like a blur. As you wash down the last of the turkey and many of you start to think about training plans for a spring marathon, allow me to be a little self-indulgent and reflect of what I’ve done in the past 12 months.

The big thing to note is that I achieved precisely none of the things that were on my running goals for 2011. Go me! They were all achievable, all realistic but they didn’t happen. But many good things have happened in 2011 that weren’t on the list of goals to tick off. In September I was shortlisted for a Blog award by Cosmopolitan magazine. Who could have seen that coming? And part way through the year I decided to turn my life upside down and spend four months travelling and running the other side of the globe.

Let’s break down last year’s to do list and see what we can learn…

1) Run my second marathon – sub 4 hours – I did run my second marathon, but didn’t go sub-4. There’s enough reasons for why this didn’t happen here. I’m OK with that, it will happen eventually.
2) Sub 50 minute 10k PB – You know the parable about the guy who prays to God to win the lottery but he never buys a ticket? Well it’s difficult to get a 10K PB if you don’t enter any races. I’m confident that, had I raced a 10K I would have been under 50 minutes – that’s because my stats told me so, not because I’d been praying or anything. 

3) Sub 1.55 half-marathon PB – again, this didn’t happen. The only half-marathon I did was 4 weeks after my marathon and two days after being struck down with a cold. Not the best time to achieve this. I did run a sub 1.55 half in training, but it’s unverified and so doesn’t count. 

4) Complete Janathon – run every day in January – um, yeah I’m not Ron Hill. What can I say, it was cold. 

5) 1000 miles run in 2011– as I’m writing this post in November I don’t know how close I’ve come to the 1000 miles mark but I know it won’t be happening. It’s a funny old thing the significance we put on certain numbers: sub-4, 1000 miles, 50 mins. 30 seconds the wrong way can feel like failure – but what’s 30 seconds? But still, chasing a number is a good motivator. Maybe next year I’ll break with running tradition and shoot for a sub 23.21 5k time.

What all this has shown me though, is that it’s good to have goals but if you focus on them too much you start to not notice the good things that you are doing. Also, I need to do more races. I did six races in 2011 which included everything from a 1-mile race to a marathon (though significantly not a 10K). So it’s time to get out the chequebook (do they even exist any more) and start racing more.

Happy Boxing Day everyone!