When I started to think about creating a blog, I thought I would take some time to try and improve my writing style, find my voice, and get comfortable with the routine of writing, editing and publishing before ever posting anything. I thought I would do this for a few months then I might feel comfortable enough for others to see what I’m writing, but over the last few weeks I’ve realised I might never get to that point.
I’m always going to feel unsure and insecure about anything I write, feel like it’s not good enough and nobody will want to read it, believe that I need more time and practice to improve. So, I decided to bite the bullet and just go for it. I know I’m not good yet, but the best way to learn is by doing and being consistent, so here is my first attempt at a post, a review of my 2022 running and racing.
My 2022
As we begin a new year and look ahead at what’s to come, it’s a good time to look back and review the year gone by, and hopefully learn some lessons that can help us reach our goals for the new year. So let’s dive right in with a monthly breakdown of my running and racing for 2022:
JANUARY: 10 runs, 9.1 hours, 101.16 km
After losing my drive and motivation in the back half of 2021, I started the year full of optimism, raring to go and looking forward to getting stuck into training. This didn’t last long though, as barely two weeks into the year Covid finally caught up with me and I spent 10 days quarantined and feeling terrible. A less than ideal start to the year!
FEBRUARY: 11 runs, 9.1 hours, 138.19 km
Returning to running after Covid was a bit of a struggle, so my first race on Feb 6 was to be an easy, casual half marathon at the Winter Warmer Run. The weather made it anything but easy! I kept a decent, relatively easy pace, and finished in 1:49:11, but the freezing wind, rain, snow and ice made it a miserable morning, and I finished feeling on the verge of hypothermia. The rest of the month went better as I finally began to feel back to normal after my bout of Covid, and I set three consecutive parkrun course PB’s at Queen’s Park to round off the month.
MARCH: 11 runs, 15.6 hours, 183.60 km
March was a more routine month with nothing exciting in my training. My job was coming to an end soon and so job hunting became the priority. I kept to the same training schedule as Feb, increasing my total time and distance, but no races or parkrun this month meant nothing really worth highlighting.
APRIL: 11 runs, 12.5 hours, 141.05 km
April brought another race, the 13.1 km Kilomathon race in Edinburgh with my brother. I also got below 22 minutes for the first time at parkrun, with a new PB of 21:48 at Victoria Park. My total time and distance dropped this month as the job search continued and I began to schedule interviews, as well as finally getting round to sitting my driving theory test (I passed, but still haven’t got round to actually learning to drive. Something else to aim for in 2023!).
MAY: 15 runs, 15.7 hours, 189.46 km
This was a better month as I settled into a new job. With a set weekly schedule now I was looking to be more consistent in my training, and I started to see the benefits straight away. An increase in the distance, time and frequency of my training in the lead up to the Edinburgh marathon at the end of the month saw me bag a new PB of 3:40:19, as well as dropping my course PB at Queen’s parkrun twice, getting it down to 23:17. (I also did my first, and last, bungee jump this month. Once is definitely enough for me!)
JUNE: 8 runs, 5.0 hours, 61.61 km
This was a quiet month, with a couple of weeks completely off to recover after Edinburgh before easing back into training in the second half of the month. The end of the month did bring another race though, and another PB, this time at the 10k distance. Despite being hungover after an ill-conceived night out (definitely not something I recommend the night before a race!), I managed to take over a minute off my previous best time from 2018, crossing the line in 42:01.
JULY: 13 runs, 14.9 hours, 170.24 km
Another good month with two more PBs. The first at the Run the Blades 50k, taking a massive 47:42 off of my previous time and finishing in 4:49:09. The second was another parkrun course PB, this time at Pollok Park with 22:00 flat.
AUGUST: 13 runs, 23.4 hours, 206.25 km
August was a huge month with my biggest challenge yet, taking on the northern half of the West Highland Way at the Devil O’ the Highlands Footrace. The Devil’s Staircase almost broke me, but I was able to push on and finish the 68km (42 miles) in 8:21:02; a lot faster than I had expected and a time I still can’t believe I managed. After a couple of weeks rest I finished the month with the Paisley 10k in 46:17, just nine seconds off my course PB from 2018.
SEPTEMBER: 9 runs, 13.9 hours, 152.09 km
September stated terribly, with a workplace accident and a suspected broken toe! (Luckily it wasn’t nearly as bad as I initially thought). It began to ease up just in time for the Great North Run, and despite feeling like I should probably walk most, if not all, of the course, I managed to force myself to run and it paid off with an almost eleven minute course PB for a time of 1:38:53. The fitness I had built earlier in the year was definitely paying off! I ended the month by dropping my Queen’s parkrun PB down to 22:47, and the 12.5km From Hel’n Back race with my brother, a great wee trail race in Helensburgh.
OCTOBER: 9 runs, 18.8 hours, 177.41 km
Another huge month, and very successful! I started with a new parkrun PB of 21:24 at Elder Park (I lowered it again later that month to 20:57 at the same course). The next day was the Great Scottish Run where I set a new half marathon PB of 1:35:23 to give me the full set for the year (new PBs at parkrun, 10k, half marathon, marathon and 50k). As happy as I was, I worried I had jeopardised my big race, the 56 mile/90 km Glasgow to Edinburgh race, just a week later. I was right to worry as I struggled from about half way. I managed to finish in 11:22:48, but the race almost broke me. Still, a massive personal best in terms of distance covered and time on feet.
NOVEMBER: 10 runs, 12.1 hours, 133.26 km
The last two months of the year were relatively quiet in terms of running as I recovered from my effort at G2E, and work got a bit chaotic in the busy period leading up to Black Friday and Christmas. I did have another two races though, my last two of the year, with the MoRun half marathons in Falkirk and Glasgow. I ran both with my brother, with the first seeing him drop his half marathon PB by about 2:30 to get below 2 hours 30 minutes for the first time, before dropping it by a further 9:30 two weeks later in Glasgow to finish in 2:20:13.
DECEMBER: 9 runs, 7.2 hours, 87.89 km
Some freezing temperatures and lots of ice made running very risky for much of December, so I had a very quiet month to round out the year before gearing up for the new training cycle to start in January.
2022 TOTALS: 129 runs, 160.1 hours, 1742.21 km
Overall, 2022 was a very successful year for my running. Although I didn’t run as much, or as consistently, as I would’ve liked, I did achieve a lot. New personal bests at 10k, half marathon, marathon and 50k distances; I lowered my parkrun PB three times, and set a further 7 course PBs throughout the year; I increased my distance record at the Devil in August, and again at Glasgow to Edinburgh in October. There’s lots to be proud of from 2022, but still lots to work on as well, so what’s next?
MY PLANS FOR 2023
2023 is the big one, the culmination of everything I’ve trained for in the last few years, the West Highland Way Race. 95 miles/153 km, and 14143 ft/4312 m of elevation gain in 35 hours (and running through 2 nights!) This isn’t just a massive challenge, it’s several massive challenges rolled into one: my longest run ever (by almost 40 miles); my first time running through the night; my first time needing a support crew; the nutrition challenge of replacing several meals as well as fuelling the run itself; sleep deprivation (and the possibility of hallucinations!).
There seems to be no end of challenges involved with this race (and the training required in the build up), but I can’t wait to toe the start line and see how I handle them.
P.S. to help keep me motivated in the build up I am fundraising for Cancer Research UK. check out my Just Giving page where you can donate and keep updated on my journey.
I had never intended anyone to read this but I hope some of you who did have enjoyed it (or at least not hated it!). Any feedback, advice or tips on how to improve are welcome, as are any suggestions on topics to cover (I have lots of ideas but I’m open to more suggestions).
Life is very busy just now so I might not be able to post as often as I would like, but I’m hoping to manage at least one each month, and build towards a fortnightly or even weekly schedule over the coming year.
Venture-Running 