Race Year Summary

March – took up running. This was life changing, and continues to be. Bad shoes, no clue, and a lot of research managed to get me in the wrong shoes but running, so running with bad form that will come back and bite me on the ass at a later date.

May – London 10K – a beautiful race past the sights and sounds of this amazing city from Buckingham Palace, through Admiralty Arch, Nelsons column, along the embankment, through Leadenhall market, by St Paul’s cathedral, the London Eye and then across Westminster bridge and past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Hot hot day too.

Time: 1:07:56

July – British 10K – pretty much the same as the London 10K, except it started at Hyde Park corner and, rather than being run by BUPA, and focused on charity, this was run by NIKE, and felt all too commercial for my liking. Raining but not cold.

Time: 1:01:58

September – Great Yorkshire run (10K) – in Sheffield, the city of hills. Start at the city centre and then down the river valley, and up as far as Hillsborough stadium and back before a crazy incline to the finish. Bad shoe experience, cramp, but a wonderful atmosphere post-race.

Time: 1:03:16

September – The TeachFirst 10K – in London, the race that should have been fun. This started at the South Bank, and crossed four of the bridges, finishing with the famous Tower Bridge, then back along the water. Was a good race until we all looked at our GPS stats at the end and the maps and found out we had run a race 6 blocks short of the correct distance.

Time: 56:19

October – The Royal Parks Half – In London again for a wonderful half marathon, my first half, through the London parks. It takes in much of the London and British 10K routes, but you spend time in the parks mostly. I loved this run and kept going despite it being the longest I had ever run. On a downside, after finishing and walking away with my medal, I experienced sharp intense pain under my knee that prompted me to seek professional help.
Time: 2:09:41

October – Amsterdam half – Of course, being injured a week before didn’t help so I put on a heavy brace and decided to go as far as I could before being forced to walk. This was the first time there was a good group of us there and we were spread over the full and half marathons. I did ok, walked a bit, and was only 4 mins slower than the week before. My first halves in a week of each other was something I never thought I would be able to achieve when I started. Again my knee wasn’t happy so visited Six Physiotherapy within a week of finishing.  

November – I visited  the physiotherapist, who assessed my gait and didn’t like much about it. I hunched over, I was wearing the wrong shoe. I needed a stability shoe not the flat Nike numbers I wore all year that now contributed to a nigh constant ITB pain. And so I went to Runners Needs and bought the recommended Brooks Adrenalin GTS 12s.
Time: 2:14:13

November – Movember Morun Greenwich 10K – first race with the new shoes, with the exercises from physio making a difference and I didn’t take it too seriously.I was still concerned about my knee and the nasty hills of the race so took it very easy. Ran with workmates, and this was more about the event than anything.

Time: 1:08:18
December – Kingston 10K –  with the shoes working well, and my new form I was racing with friend Heidi, from Amsterdam. This was a great little run, well organised and I was proud to comfortably finish a 10K without walking at all. Having completed my first 10 in May, I now ran one without stopping 10 minutes faster.
Time: 57:40

December – Twickenham 10K – I was challenged to run by a pro. I should have ended the year on the high from the week before. The run was tough as I was injured. Course was pretty much the same as the week before too. In the end the medals were stolen and I felt very deflated by the end of my year, although motivated for 2013.
Time: 59:46

December – Virtual Half Mary – This came from Twitter. The Virtual Marathon where a group of runners all over the world run in their home countries and post results on Twitter. I planned to run the first half of the Richmond Park marathon route but torrential rain and flooding changed my mind for me so I ran a half marathon on a treadmill. Ended with knee pain. It wasn’t a great time but this wasn’t about time, this was. 
Time 2:22:00

I am proud to have completed 7 10Ks and 3 halves in my first year of running. I could have done a lot of things better. I was glad I ended up with the right shoes but it was a shame I needed to get hurt to realise something was wrong. Nothing but positive thoughts for next year.