The Top Ten of 2012 Part 1

When I started thinking about what to write for this end of year post, there were so many things that popped into my head that it was hard for me to boil it down into a top ten list. After the debacle of a year that was 2010, 2011 was all about regaining stability and control. With that platform firmly at my feet, 2012 allowed me to flame into life with big moves, assurance, passion and extreme ambitions in true Year of the Dragon style! In short, it was a brilliant year.

2012 - the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.

The dragon is the most revered animal in the Chinese zodiac, symbolising power, strength, bravery, passion and confidence. No other zodiac sign could be compared to the status of the dragon. Many Chinese consider the Year of the Dragon to be the most auspicious year, and it's no surprise that this year has brought along a baby boom in China and many Chinese communities.

Now I'm not a horoscope follower, but how did the Year of the Dragon deliver fortune, success and a load of other great memories for me? Here's a countdown of my top ten of the year 2012.

Paving the Road to London

With the Chicago Marathon fully behind me, and after spending a month enjoying all the things that I couldn't afford to do whilst training (late nights, icecream, pizza to name a few), it's time to refocus and dedicate all my energies into training for the next big one. I mentioned earlier that I was itching to get back into training, however I was urged by Coach Tony to take marathon recovery seriously even though my legs felt fine and ready to run again. That meant no hard, fast and long stuff for a month.

I didn't stop running completely in that month, but when you've been running virtually every day for the past 3-4 months and then suddenly reduce it to 1-2 times a week, it does feel like a complete stop. It's amazing how much fitness you can lose when the volume drops dramatically. So it's no surprise that I've been finding it difficult to get back into my stride the past couple of weeks.

Chicago Marathon 2012 - Race Report

To call myself a Boston Qualifier is the light at the end of the tunnel of several years of marathon training. For every serious marathoner, it's the ultimate achievement in long distance running because it's the world's oldest and most prestigious marathon course. But, above all, it's an elite marathon with a competitive registration process. All the 25000 runners in the field have rightfully earned their places on the starting line. 

I've harboured dreams of qualifying for Boston early on in my marathon "career", but at the time I was still a long way from making the grade. It was only when I got a London Marathon Good For Age place in April this year that I felt I had a serious shot at qualification. At that time I had the Chicago Marathon lined up next, which was perfect as it's a flat and fast course. Of course, over the five months of training for Chicago, there were doubts along the way, but it all fell into place in the later stages as I hit my target times in training and practice races. That alone gave me the belief that I was due for something special.

How I qualified for Boston - The numbers behind running a BQ

Another opportunity to go runner nerd in this post. This is going to be a good one!

Below is a table (shamelessly constructed in Excel) containing the 5 km split times that I ran at Chicago, compared to the expected time I had to run at to meet my Boston qualifying (BQ) target of 3 hours 5 minutes. The Surplus/Deficit column represents how much time I was in front or behind at each stage of the race, while Time Gained/Lost shows the amount of time I gained or lost from the previous split. 

Splits from the Chicago Marathon, October 2012

Mission: Impossible - Prelude to Chicago

It's been such a long time since I've last written something here, and the only reason I can give is that I've been so busy with work. And, if it's not with work then it's either with marathon training, or watching all the Olympics/Paralympics coverage available, or just those other things in life that got in the way or needed to be done. But I've managed to find a small bit of time for this, so hopefully I can get the blogging back on track too. 

There's only three weeks left to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and while I'm certainly in good shape, I'm not sure whether I am really ready to meet my goal time of 3:05. If I do get that time it will be an improvement by over 3 minutes, but more importantly it will consider me entry into the Boston Marathon, which is the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world. Compared to my preparation for Paris, I felt this one wasn't so stellar. Work commitments got in the way, the Olympics were in town, and, for me, training in the summer was a lot more demanding than winter (although getting outside in the cold and darkness was also a challenge in itself!).

Starting over

It's amazing how much five weeks off running can do to your fitness. Of course I've had longer layoffs, and I never really thought about how much fitness I could lose, but this time it's different. The past 6-8 months have seen so much improvements in my running that I'm keen to not let it slip.

But when your parents are in town and it's their first time in the UK and Europe, then you're on holiday with your parents. So in the past month or so, as soon as I returned from holiday, I've been busy getting back into running and building those fitness levels again.

That Epic Holiday

Over the past month I've been on a well-deserved holiday, accompanying my parents as they explored Europe for the first time. It's been quite an adventure for all of us as we went into tourist mode for over three weeks, something we often do not have a chance to do. My parents are not big travellers or holiday-makers and I've cut down on my overseas travelling due to my marathon training commitments. But when the opportunity arose we went into it with great enthusiasm. Let me share some highlights.

Highlights

Climbing the Eiffel tower (for the second time)

View of Paris, Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysées, from the top of the Eiffel tower.

The Numbers Behind the 3:08:53

Indulge me while I go runner nerd in this post.

I've always liked to look at numbers and collect information on race splits on a race that I've run. It serves to show at what stage of the race I ran well, what didn't go so well and how I could improve for next time.

Below is a table of my times and splits at Paris, and how I did compared to my expected goal time of 3:10.

Paris Marathon Race Report

Well, what a ride it's been! Apart from training for my first marathon, I don't think I can remember a time when I actually worked extremely hard towards a goal... and actually achieving it in the end! Six months of hard slog had given me a place in next year's Virgin London Marathon.

It was an event I've always wanted to run, even before I left New Zealand to live here. There's always the option of getting in by the various charities or the public ballot, but having had no luck in the ballot, I was determined to earn my way in - with my legs, my lungs and, most importantly, my heart. And to get in the hard way made this achievement so much sweeter.

Prelude to Paris

Another marathon training cycle is coming to an end. It's been a long period, starting as far back as last October. I suppose one of the best things about it is that last winter has to be one of the mildest we've had, so it hasn't been too difficult for me to go outside and run.

I'm quietly confident that I can set a new marathon personal best in Paris, but I can't help being a little cautious on what time I will actually get because the marathon is full of unknowns. Recent improvements in my marathon times have been reduced to a matter of minutes now, so it's only fair to say that the next marathon will be a minute or two faster than the last one. 

But I believe that a 3:10 is a strong possibility, a 9 minute improvement from the 3:19 I set at Berlin last September. It's a bold improvement, which is already starting to make me a little nervous, but I think it's definitely within my reach, and here is why.