The Top Ten of 2011

I wasn't intending to write a post to describe my 2011 year in review, unlike the past two years. I thought my Three Years in the UK post covered my feelings on the matter, but after looking at previous posts I couldn't resist doing another one. Plus, my three years post covered my three years in the UK at a very high level, but what about 2011 itself? What were the highlights (and lowlights)?

2011 was the year in which I felt that I came full circle, that I redeemed myself somewhat. After spending most of 2010 outside of the UK, away from my comfort zone, and not knowing exactly where I was going to end up next, I now have that feeling of security, that I have regained some sort of control. Living in another country where things were provided to me constantly wasn't the type of life I wanted to lead, and to come back to the UK allowed me to put my feet on solid ground again.

My Year of Running - A Review and What I've Learnt

What a difference 11 weeks can make. After a rubbish performance in the Reading Half Marathon in March, followed by an unlucky outing in the British 10K in July, I managed to set another PB at Berlin in a race where I wasn't expected to, after the less-than-impressive start to the running year.

I can't even stress how badly I started out this year. Over Christmas and New Years, I had a much deserved holiday back in New Zealand where running was pretty much put on the back burner. Those times that I did go running, I found it tough due to lack of fitness and the hot summer conditions, which is unlike running in the UK on a summer's day. January was pretty much Holiday Month, while February was Sickness Month. During mid-February I struggled with illness so much that it sidelined me from quality training. Finally when I got well again, on came March, or Moving Month. I had to settle back into life in the UK once more. The Reading Half Marathon came around and I pretty much struggled through the entire run.

The Consultant. Runner. Aaron. Trilogy - Three Years in the UK

They say that all things come in threes. And it made me think about my three years in the UK (or more specifically, three years away from New Zealand).

If you've read the Lord of the Rings books, or seen the Godfather or Star Wars movies, you would've noticed that they involve the same characters or settings, connected by common themes or epic adventures. Strangely, or maybe coincidentally, my time spent in the UK has been like an epic trilogy. Well, the three years I've spent here have certainly been an epic adventure, but let me try to convince you how it fits into a trilogy-like structure, which I've, rather lamely, titled The Consultant. Runner. Aaron. Trilogy. Here's how my adventure so far boils down into three movements.