RUNNER MUM: 2012 - review of the year

A lot of people seem to be very glad to see the end of 2012 as a bad year, including bloggers, friends and family. But I can't agree - for me 2012 was a really fantastic year in many ways. Since I started running seriously, (some time in 2009), this was the first year in which I ran consistently every month - almost every week in fact - without having to stop for injury, illness or recovery.

In terms of personal life, we continued to settle in to our home town, having moved here the previous summer. Robbie finished his second year at school with a really good report, Emma started school in September, and we got to know new friends through parents of her classmates. We had a fabulously relaxing week in France in the summer, where the weather was beautiful. I also celebrated my 40th birthday, and ended the year with a fantastic surprise trip to San Francisco, which was very exciting and fun.

One of the biggest events in the UK in my lifetime also took place - the Olympics. I absolutely loved watching a lot of the tv coverage - especially the many Gold medals acheived by Team GB! And we were also lucky enough to attend some of the events too. It started when the kids and I saw the torch procession as they went near our town.

During the games, I went by myself to see the women's marathon, which was great fun in spite of pouring rain and chilly temperatures. Then Pete and I had tickets to women's basketball, which we preceded with a morning in Hyde Park where the 10K swim in the lake took place. It was a brilliant day. Finally we took the kids to London to see the men's marathon, and met up with my sister and her family there.

The whole event along with the Paralympics, was an incredible time, and even the most cynical commentators were forced to admit that London 2012 was a great success. If only it could happen every year...

In terms of running, it was by far my best year yet. I ran 861 miles in total (compared to 481 in 2011), and I cycled 368 miles. I did 9 races, including my first 10-miler, and my first repeated race (the second time I'd run the Bexhill 10K). I got PBs in Half Marathon, 10 miles, and 10K. Most unexpectedly of all, I got my first ever prize in the Tillingham Valley 5m trail race, where I was 3rd female, winning a bottle of wine! Even better, Emma was 1st (only) girl in the children's race.

The kids took part in the Sports Relief mile in March, and then ran in 3 other races attached to my races. Emma learned to ride a pedal bike without stabilisers, and they both made great progress with their swimming. I also learned to swim underwater!

As for my goals, they were as follows:

1. PB at Half-marathon
Done on 4th March
2. Go under 2 hours at Half-marathon
Done on 4th March - 1h58m38s
3. Run over 600 miles
Done - 861 miles in 2012.
4. Run more races
Done - 9 races last year compared to 3 in 2011.
5. Keep up the cross-training
Not bad. I cycled most months, although my bike mileage was almost 40 miles lower than 2011. But I did start swimming properly too last summer.
6. Do more Pilates and weight training
Er.... no. Need to keep working on this one. It's a time issue - I always prioritise running when I have spare time.
7. Keep Plantar Fasciitis at bay!
So far so good. I have felt the odd niggle in my heels, and I feel that it could come back any time, so I need to keep being aware of this, and not overdo it.

I think my goals were fairly modest, as I was wary of the return of injury, after all the problems of 2011, so I'm going to make some more challenging goals for 2013. I hope 2013 can live up to 2012 - mostly I just hope I can keep running consistently without injury.

Finally here is my mileage for running and cycling in 2012 in graph form. Very happy with this!