Not long now until the dawn of another year, I wonder what excitements and adventures lie ahead?
2011 has been a good year for me, I have raced in some fantastic locations, met amazing people, laughed, cried, celebrated and shared some wonderful moments with family and friends. We always wonder whether we could have done better, got faster times, trained harder, but when I look back I’m more than happy with my results, achievements and the experiences I have had, wouldn’t change a thing!
2012 brings new goals. One of the reasons I love racing is firstly the stunning locations I run it, whether they are in the UK or abroad, but I like to try and take myself out of my comfort zone which is why in May I will be heading out to the Jungle in Peru for a 7 day staged race http://www.beyondtheultimate.co/ why is it out of my comfort zone I hear you ask, WELL there are several reasons. Firstly I dislike bugs and I am terrified of being out of my depth in water, (years ago when my family in Norway I watched my sister nearly drown, the image and fear has stayed with me ever since – thankfully my sister was fine) both of these I will encounter many times during the race, however, I also believe that its good to face your demons as they never seem quite as scary when you are faced with the situation (I hope!!!)
My training will be slightly different – I even have one day off a week! (HWMBO will be delighted!!!) This I hope will help to improve my running and speed as I’m not exactly the speediest old bird on the block – only time will tell!
You will see from my events this year that I have one sometimes two races a month until the end of June, all the smaller races will be used as training events; If I raced every event I entered, this would put far too much strain on my body, resulting in injury and slower performances. I have decided on my A races for the year, these are my focus.
The body is an awesome machine, treat it well and you will be surprise what its capable of doing. I believe we all fall into the trap of comparing what we are doing to other runners – some people will race every weekend, others have very high mileage, some don’t listen to their bodies and unfortunately end up injured; once you have chosen your races or made plans stay with what you want to do. Everyone is different, has different goals, be confident in yours.
So, if in 2012 you have decided to enter the wonderful world of running remember to build up a solid base first – like a tree, if it has a good root system the tree will be strong and flourish!
Get your trainers on, put one foot in front of the other and see what happens! You never know what adventures are round the corner.
I wish you all a very happy and wonderful 2012 and leave you with one of my favourite quotes.
LIMITATIONS LIVE ONLY IN OUR MINDS, BUT IF WE USE OUR IMAGINATIONS OUR POSSIBILITIES BECOME LIMITLESS.
Happy New Year and Happy Training!
