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.

2011 was also the year of the Rabbit, and like a rabbit, I managed to achieve my fastest marathon time at Berlin. Now I'm not a horoscope follower, but who knows what 2012 and the year of the Dragon will behold. The Dragon suggests charisma, leadership and accomplishment, so perhaps there will be better performances in my running, or career, or just life in general?

Anyway, without further ado, I'll start the countdown, starting at number 10.

10:  Visiting Salzburg

Salzburg definitely deserves a mention. It was one of my must-visit places, and I even had to sell the idea to one of my friends who I was travelling with. Having interests in classical music and musicals (think Mozart and The Sound of Music), I enjoyed it immensely, and it even got me singing Do-Re-Mi like the Von Trapp Family singers!

Yes I am one of the seven children, as you can count!

9: Visiting Istanbul

Originally supposed to by Cairo, Egypt, but after the Arab Spring making travel to Egypt unsafe, we decided to go to Turkey as a relatively safe alternative.

The Blue Mosque.

It was an interesting experience. The locals were friendly, sometimes a bit annoying as try to talk you in to buying something. The food and Turkish ice-cream was delicious. But the must-do Turkish experience was definitely the Turkish bath. Being scrubbed full body and being roughly man-handled by a fat Turkish bloke is certainly a unique experience, not something I'd be quick to repeat, but definitely something people have to try.

Feeling much better after my bath, thanks to these guys!

I managed to put my bargaining skills to the test at the Grand Bazaar, rather unsuccessfully I should add. I ended up buying an Anatolian table cloth, most likely for more than it is really worth!

The place to rip off or get ripped off in Istanbul.

8: Closure of the Reading office

A controversial choice for many reasons. I definitely wouldn't have put this here, but I think it deserves a mention. News that the office was closing, while moving all operations to London, greatly affected all Reading-based staff members, including me. Having moved into my new place after moving back to the UK, choosing a handy location to live, and then closing the office was indeed a very stressful time.

The erstwhile Reading office.

But throughout this trying time, it also served to bring those affected much closer together as we discussed amongst ourselves with genuine honesty how it would be affecting us and the choices we all had to make, whether we'd leave or stay, fight for our positions or accept the inevitable. Personally, I took it upon myself to brighten up the mood a bit, and once of the perks we'd be missing out on was free doughnuts on Friday. I can't remember how it happened, but apparently my flirtatious behaviour towards the doughnut girl was nowhere near subtle; the office manager pounced on me when the doughnut girl left the room!

7: Successfully delivering three projects

Since moving back to the UK, I've been a part of three successfully delivered projects from start to finish, one of them under my technical leadership. Being able to deliver three projects in a short space of time has actually never occurred for me before, but this is indicative of the types of projects I've been previously working on.

Taking over the world..... I mean the UK!

2011 has seen me work mostly on UK-based projects, and I've been to "exciting places" such as Grimsby, Sutton Coldfield, Walsall, Wigan, Bury St Edmunds, Glasgow and Lanarkshire. With a few key personnel leaving this year, I think 2012 should allow me to step up into new roles and assume new and more important responsibilities.

6: Seeing London, in style

Since coming to the UK, I've never actually done the "tourist-trap" activities in London such as cruising on the Thames, or soaring above London inside the London Eye. I'm glad to say I've finally managed to do this as part of my company's Christmas party.

The evening started with a panoramic view of London inside the London Eye. 

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye.

Followed by a four-course dinner while sailing on the Thames.

Tower Bridge at night.

It was indeed a fantastic evening!

5: Joining Reading Roadrunners
I have to credit joining Reading Roadrunners as the main catalyst in helping me become a better runner. Having trained solo for most of my running career, I felt a much different experience when training with a group of people, especially with runners of similar abilities. But it was also the type of training that Coach Tony dishes out to us, and I can honestly say that I work harder under Coach Tony than if I trained on my own.

Obviously not as fast as Mr Roadrunner himself!

Being one of the smaller training groups (I'm not sure why that is!), Coach Tony knows each of us well, even keeping our PBs over various distances on file. He also gives us outrageous targets, which we often fail to meet especially in tired states, but it's the style of coaching he applies which seems to work for me. Some of the lads in my group also run at parkrun (more on that later), so we encourage each other to turn up to that and do our best, or just have fun.

4: Extending my stay in the UK

It cost me over £1000, but it was an investment into a longer experience in the UK, Europe and the Northern Hemisphere. It was actually a no-brainer for me to extend my UK visa; I'm not ready or keen to return to New Zealand so soon as there's still so much more I can do in the UK. And having been here for three years already, I feel as if I've hardly done much at all, partly because of my running commitments taking so much of my time, and partly because time goes too fast! But the main reason is to go for citizenship and have that added flexibility of returning back to the UK should I return to New Zealand first.

You know what this is!

I admit, I'm turning into a Brit! Pretty soon, I'll develop the accent as well; exactly which region of England (Brummie, Geordie, West Country or Scouse) remains to be seen! Don't ask me why, but I quite like the Brummie sounding accents from Birmingham!

3: Breaking 3:20 in the marathon
After a poor start to the running year I surprised myself by breaking the magical 3:20 barrier in the marathon at Berlin, my third attempt in as many years. It was the culmination of many days of training, and it taught me that there are no shortcuts in faster running. Faster running only comes through many days, weeks, months and years of consistent running, and after learning that the hard way last year trying all sorts of training programmes that promise quick results with little effort, I actually appreciated it this year when all that hard work paid off handsomely. Next year I have to work much harder to raise the bar even higher, but I know what I'm capable of and am prepared to put in the necessary work to ensure success. It was also the year in which the marathon world record was broken, and it was truly an honour to be part of that event.

Patrick Makau, the current marathon world record holder

2: Running the weekly Reading parkrun

How can a 5k free weekly timed run rank so highly in my top ten? Simple! It brought back some much needed speed in my 5k racing, and it has allowed me to meet people and make new friends just by coming along every Saturday morning when I could easily be sleeping in!

Keeping calm with Santa on my shoulder!

parkrun accepts runners of all abilities. Young or old, fast or not-so-fast. The best thing about it is that it is free. Sponsorship ensures that there is a parkrun at Reading, but more importantly it is only possible through the hard work of the countless volunteers who give up some of their Saturday mornings to provide an enjoyable experience for runners alike. I hope to give back to parkrun in 2012 by becoming a volunteer myself. A few lads in my training group at Reading Roadrunners also turn up to parkrun, so we normally chat about running-related things after our 5k exertions.

Over the weeks, I've been a part of parkrun runfree, the 100th Reading parkrun and the Christmas Eve Santa parkrun, as you can see from the picture above! I didn't have a Santa suit so the best I could do was to don a red t-shirt with an appropriate running quote. 

I would be remiss if I didn't thank Simon Brimacombe for introducing and encouraging me to attend parkrun, and enjoying the benefits that parkrun brings. Top bloke!

1: Moving back to the UK
After the failed project in Norway, it was time for me to move back to the UK, and a chance to lead a normal life again. Even though I'm not a stranger to relocation, it wasn't an easy transition. It was a mission trying to find a place to live, but after being patient, keeping my eyes open, getting some much-needed help from others, and just being in the right place at the right time I found a place close to work, parkrun and Reading Roadrunners. Location location location!

Living area.

It also meant that I wasn't in Norway when the Norway attacks happened in July. Even though there were a small number of fatalities from the bombing, the fact that I lived very close to the site of the bombing made me realise how extremely fortunate I am. Thankfully, none of my Norwegian colleagues were harmed in the attacks, although it will affect the lives of Norwegians for a very long time.

Epilogue

This concludes my Top Ten of 2011. With the new year just ushered in, I feel that 2012 is going to be a very big year, not just for the UK with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics being the dominant headlines, but in the wider picture as well with all sorts of events happening in the world today. 2011 for me has been about finding my place back in the UK again, and now that I have a base, which I am hoping it will not fall under me like last time, and more time in the UK to enjoy life I hope that the new year will bring increased stability, more unforgettable experiences, less nasty surprises and, of course, a faster marathon time! Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed creating it.