Planning for 2013 - the 30th RR

I decided even before I got back from Finland that I would definitely be doing it again in 2013. Leaving two years between events last time made it harder to get back to the right level of fitness. Straight after getting back I had a series of colds and other bugs, so already it was hard to keep fitness up. No running for a few weeks even.

But as I was signed up for the Bristol 10k, which I had to miss last year through illness, I had to get back to at least some level of training. I think it helps to keep momentum going if you have some "public" goals. The Bristol 10k had grown in size so much from two years ago that it was not until after the 7km mark that it was possible to find enough space to run in comfortably; prior to that it was a question of keep dodging in and out of spaces. Now that I have the Polar GPS for my watch, I was able to run to a target pace, and so for the first time, this is what I actually did. Being 2 years older and ten pounds heavier, I did not get my personal best (53:06 of 2010) but didn't expect to do so. I clocked 55:45, which meant I was between 4 and 5 seconds per kilomoete slower than the pace for my realisitic target of 55min.

Apart from last Saturday, when I only did 8k because of Sunday's race, I am keeping up with my two lap 16k every Saturday - usually in the summer I drop to a single 8k lap. Along with the running club on Tuesdays, this means I am maintaining my 25km training each week.

I will now start to introduce other forms of training again through the summer. I have set myself the target of one of the autumn half marathons - I will do both Bristol and Burnham (this year on consecutive Sundays) - in a time of under 2 hours, which will be a personal best. I am also going to try my oldest waxless cross country skis on the sand dunes. There will be no gliding, but at least it will simulate the effort of going up hills and work the right muscles. Running over the Knoll will also have to be added to the training regime, as I figured out that inclining the treadmill in the gym made it more like cross country skiing - I could feel the change in which muscles were being worked. This is because although the skiing is on the flat, you actually incline your body forward in order to propel yourself.

Also, since January we have had a week in Norway booked for February 2013, which means that for the first time, I will actually have training on snow before arriving in Finland.

The last couple of days have been inspirational with the Olympic Torch relay passing through our area. One of my wife's students was a torch bearer, and incredibly three people from our running club have been torch bearers, although Jason is the only one I know. Arthur Gilbert I saw on TV - at 91, he is offocially the world's oldest triathlete.

It has been interesting to see the reaction of people I know to the relay. The only cynics are people who have not done any form of competitive physical sport and don't knowwhat it is to have people cheering you on.

Today I told Anitta (the RR organiser) to pencil me in for RR1 in 2013, so there is no going back now.