I haven't been blogging for over two months, and I have to say that it is entirely my fault for putting this on the backburner. I must admit that settling back in the UK has taken a lot longer than I thought it would, but there have been other events that have needed my full attention. Here's a recap of what happened in those two months.
Joining a running club
When I returned from Norway, one of the things that I made clear to myself was that I had to join a running club. Being part of a club has allowed me to enjoy my running more and push myself in training harder (well it helps when Coach pushes you as well). My training group is not large, so that helps with Coach knowing who's who and what our abilities are. Since then, I've seen improvements in my personal best over shorter distances, and this will hopefully translate well to the longer version.
Becoming a Brit
After nearly 3 years abroard, I've decided to extend my stay in the UK for a further 2 years. I have to say that the process wasn't as painful as the first time I did this, and in a little under a month I finally got my UK residence visa. I'm keen to get Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years and after that I'll see how things go in terms of my life and career in the UK. This might sound like disappointing news to some folks back home in NZ but I've chosen to make the UK my home, for now.
Closure of the Reading Office
After 3 years, the Reading Office is finally coming to an end. The place where we get free doughnuts on Friday and free gym access is no more. This sudden news has placed all of us on provisional redundancy. I'm glad to say that I still have my job with some new conditions, but there are some who aren't so lucky and will have to find employment elsewhere. It's been a highly trying and stressful time for all of us and in that time we've gotten closer and learned a lot about each other, and ourselves.
British 10K London Run
My first 10K race, and it did not go as planned. Having done a 10000m time trial once on the track (43:40), I was hoping to go under that, and after 5 km I was 21:50, so that put me on target for a PB. However, after 6 km, I encountered toilet trouble and there were no portaloos on the course. Paula Radcliffe might have gotten away with what she did in the London Marathon, but I'm not Paula Radcliffe or in the class of the world record holder, so I had to hold it in until I got to the finish line in 47:15 (not a bad time despite the handicap), in which I sat on the portaloo for around 30 minutes. It turned out I had a bad case of diarrhoea which continued throughout the day. The next day I felt fine. Go figure!
Training for Berlin
My third Berlin is in 10 weeks and despite a disaster time at the British 10K, I think I'm at the same stage of fitness as I was last year, however I still need to prove it with a few long runs because I've concentrated so much on the short stuff lately. Instead of going for sub-3 hours this year, I'm aiming to do sub-3:20. I just need to shave 85 seconds off my personal best time, which looks very easy over 42 km, but in practice, and at my running level, it's quite hard to do.
Settling in
I love my place because it's close to the running club, parkrun, and the Reading office (which unfortunately is closing down). It's got most of the modern conveniences however I've been doing a bit of window shopping lately and I'm looking for a nice TV, a games console, a new laptop and a NAS. Yes, you may think that I've gone crazy throwing away money like that, but I've reached a stage where I want to settle down in a place and not get shunted around like some resource, which is what I've been doing for the whole of last year. It feels good to not have to move, and I'm hoping that it will stay that way.
Conclusion
So from the icy tundra landscapes of Norway, back to the land where summer comes when you least expect it, I've had a whirlwind 6 months. Some of it good, some of it bad, but I've learnt a lot more about myself and I'm hoping that for the rest of the year things will only keep on going up.
No comments:
Post a Comment