2011

So 2011 turned out to be a better year on the fitness front than I probably deserved, given how inconsistently I managed to drag myself out of bed. Across 36 activities I clocked just under 1,800 minutes of actual movement, almost all of it running — 35 runs covering 252.9 kilometres, which even now feels like a number I should be more impressed by than I am. The highlight was undoubtedly the Marlow Half Marathon, which I have written about elsewhere and which went about as well as my preparation merited (read: fine, just about). Nine personal records over the course of the year was a pleasant surprise, and I did manage one solitary bike ride in there too, which I am counting as cross-training and absolutely not as evidence that I own a bike I rarely use.

So compared to 2010, the direction of travel is at least pointing the right way. Last year I managed 25 runs and 181 kilometres, so adding another 10 runs and nudging past 250 kilometres is a genuine step forward, even if the pace improvement — six and a half minutes per kilometre versus six thirty-six the year before — is the kind of marginal gain that won't exactly trouble the elites. The average heart rate of 167 suggests I was working hard enough, or possibly just that I find running quite stressful (both, probably). The thing to take into 2012 is simple: more consistency, slightly less relying on race entry deadlines as my primary training motivation.

Summary generated by Claude