"OH DEAR". This was my reaction when I summarised mileage, number of runs and time spent running in 2012 running. However I was not in shock as to what happened here as the last 2-3 months my running has been pretty dire to say the least. In fact it's the worst 3 months that I have logged in the past 3 years and overall I ran less miles than last year.
Lowest Month : 88.1 miles (December)
Overall Mileage: 1698.7 miles (1831.2 miles in 2011)
For October, November and December I didn't even reach 100 miles for each month. Now I am not a high mileage runner but these figures should be at least double especially as the previous 6 months were averaging 190 or so.
The reason for this is simple to me Lack of Measurable Running goals = Lack of Motivation
I am someone who is achievement and results orientated so the fact I didn't even stand on the start line for the North Downs 100 mile race in August was a major blow to my confidence. However I was intent on not letting this get me down and September was quite a good month of running and my fitness was probably at it's best. The mistake made here was that I didn't have any other races lined up to cushion the blow and although I tried to believe that running for the pleasure of the act itself would be enough I was very much mistaken as I had pretty much tried to ignore what drives me at the core of my personality.
It wasn't all doom and gloom in 2012 but I am determined not to let 2013 start off the way 2012 finished. Now of course racing every week isn't the answer (I don't have a bank loan handy) but I need to do some serious thinking time and set out SMART goals in a rapidly fashion for 2013 in order to stop this runner from decomposing slowly. It's not all going to be about getting PB's but having variety in there will keep me moving forward.
I need to take control of my running this year and the only way to do this is be true to myself and approach this part of my life the same way I would any other thing in my life because that is who I am and that is how I roll..
Happy Trails
