First Quarter Statistics

At the end of March it is time to review how I am doing with my running this year.

January 2006

Total Mileage was 146 this compares with 127 miles in 2005
Total no of runs was 20 compared to 19 last year.

February 2006

Total Mileage was 111 this compares with 45 miles in 2005
Total no of runs was 16 compared to 7 last year.

March 2006

Total Mileage was 144 this compares with 94 miles in 2005
Total no of runs was 21 compared to 14 last year.

My total runs for the year up to end of March 2006 is 57 out of 90 days

My average distance that I run is 7.05 miles compared to 6.88 as an average for last year.

My longest run of the year was 13 miles on 13th January at West Stow and probably still my favourite run of this year.

I have run three races already this year. The Lakenheath XC 5 on 5th Feb, Bury Nearly 10 on the the 26th Feb and the Stowmarket 10 on the 26th Mar.

I set these targets on the 31st of December with the aid of a glenfiddach or two!

1. To keep fit and enjoy my running.

That will always be my number one aim. People some times ask why do you run? Quite often they look upon you as weird when you mention that you run. Often they will say they have tried and found it boring. Quite simply I run because I can and I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it. I get to see the changing seasons, experience all weathers and enjoy the beautiful Suffolk countryside. I meet similar folks who enjoy running. I gave up a long time ago trying to persuade others to run you either enjoy it or you don't.

Easy target for me i'm really enjoying my running more than ever.

2. I am a signed up member of St Edmunds Pacers and look forward to continuing doing so for next year.

St Edmunds Pacers is a great club to belong to could do with more members though!

3. I am setting myself an overall target to run 1500 miles next year. That's challenging for me but hopefully a realistic target that is achievable barring injuries ! I managed 1328 this year so it is an additional 200 miles at an average of 29 miles a week.

I am on target at present. In fact I am averaging 31.6 miles a week so I have nearly a weeks mileage accumulated over and above my target so far.

4. Long Runs - I want to up my long runs so that next year I run some 2 hour or 15 mile runs .

Not achieved- my longest run to date is 13 miles only. I need to enter a half marathon to give myself an incentive to do this - must look out for a possible race - any suggestions anyone?

5. Hills - these are great sessions to include in your training. I know it but I just didn't do it this year. Can I do it next year? Probably not on my own. I remember that we used to run these as a cub session when I belonged to Stopsley Striders back in 1994. I am not going to set my target for hills anything greater than to do 1 hill session a month.

I am running hills but only once a month. This was my target and to be honest it should be fairly easy to achieve. I ran hills on 23rd Jan, 6th Feb and 14th March.


6. Races - for me racing isn't the be and end all of why I run but I would still like to run more races than I did this year which was only 3 . My target for 2006 is to do 6 races. At the moment I still think my limit for a race is around the half marathon distance. So I would like to include a half marathon as a race next year.

On target with 3 races to date

7. Track and Interval Work - If I miss the Wednesday track session at West Suffolk Athletics Track then I want to commit to doing the Monday session. To my mind track work is so beneficial.

Not achieved - I am missing more track sessions than I would like. Mondays are not a great day for me to do a fast track session after a longish run on Sunday- Tuesday would be better.

8. To get my weight down to 12 stone - I could still do with losing a few pounds . My BMI still shows I am overweight for my height. This means losing about 4-6 pounds. This should be possible if I keep to my new mileage targets.

Not achieved - to be honest I have hardly checked but I believe I haven't lost any weight this year.

9. To replace my watch - I don't have a very good running watch- sometime this year I would like to get one of those Garmin 201 devices

Not achieved would still like to, its on my wish list but I can't justify the expenditure at the moment

10. Lastly this one is a bit crazy but when the weather brightens up in the spring I am seriouslyconsidering an occasional run when I take with me a rucksack to pick up rubbish I spot in the hedgerows. I hate to see rubbish which has been dropped from car windows left on the side of roads. It can remain for years in some rural spots. Ok I could say it is not my rubbish but in a way we are all responsible for the upkeep of the countryside and I am willing to give it a go. I expect I will need to wear gloves and an old rucksack. My other though then is what to do with the rubbish as I don't particularly want to fill my own dustbin with what I collect. Maybe my run will need to by pass a recycling centre.

Not achieved but I never intended to do this until the weather improves and I am not picking up wet grotty stuff.

So the year to date is going very well and I am positive.