The close of 2014 has been a very busy period for me, so much so that I haven't had much of an opportunity to really look back on the events and happenings of the past 12 months. And with Christmas and a holiday in Canada, which I'm thoroughly enjoying, it's hard to find that quiet moment of reflection when there are so many holiday-related things to do.
But, I think what's making it so difficult is also the fact that there were so many things to write that it was hard for
me to boil it down into a single top ten list. 2013, the Year of the Snake, was all about coming back from disappointment and setting all my ducks in a row, exercising patience and consolidation like a snake would do. 2014, the Year of the Horse, was all about chasing those dreams with unrelenting passion and vigour.
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| 2014 - the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac. |
The horse is a great animal to represent how 2014 has turned out for
me. Horses are swift, strong, energetic, hard-working, outgoing, faithful and an animal you can rely on, and I'm pleased
that nearly all of my endeavours have kept up with the pace of this horse.
But, along the way, the horse did clip a few hurdles, even to the point
where the outcome could've been disastrous for both horse and rider.
2014
was a very good year in terms of achievement - I achieved more than I ever thought I would. It was a great year of
solidifying existing friendships and establishing new ones, just by
showing interest, empathy and ongoing support to others. And, like a
Phoenix rising from the ashes, it was also about redemption and making the most out of a second chance.
Now I'm not a horoscope follower, but how did I manage to bet on the right horse this year? Here's a countdown of my top ten of the year 2014.
10: 10 years at Orion Health
On September 27, 2004, I started working at Orion Health. I'm still with them now! These days, not many people can claim to stay that long with the same employer, or even get recognition from them as well.
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| My long service award. |
The three highlights that really
stand out include: my first introduction to running through the
Auckland Office Social Club, which extended to running marathons even to
this day; relocating to the UK and having the chance to work in some
rather exotic locations and meet a whole bunch of wonderful people in
and outside of work; and being, surprisingly, chosen as the Associate of
the Year in 2013.
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| Trying my best to look productive at work, December 2005. |
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| At Christ Church, Oxford, April 2008, my first outing to the UK for Connectathon. |
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| Team Orion Health take on the Auckland Marathon, November 2008, two weeks before I left NZ for the UK. |
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| With my Norwegian buddies, Luuk and Sven in Oslo, Norway, March 2011, the day before I returned back to the UK. |
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| Claire and me in the London Eye for our Christmas Party, December 2011. |
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| Receiving the Associate of the Year award from Richard Bulmer, VP Professional Services, EMEA, December 2013. |
I can't believe I've been around the company longer
than some of the young kids at Reading parkrun! I guess I should say,
here's to the next 10 years?
9: Pacing duty and coaching
In the previous year, I've found myself assisting a lot of runners wanting to meet a particular goal when it comes to running and racing, whether it's a certain target time or a big
personal best. It's also redefined my definition of success. Success isn't always a
podium finish, or a big contract, or a massive marathon PB; it's also
being faithful with your gifts and finding a way to use them to serve others.
| Peeeeee Beeeeee! Celebrating one of the many PBs that Alexander Calutas has set this year. |
This year, I've continued to do that, and more by taking on some coaching responsibilities. And I'm glad to say that almost all the runners I've
helped have met their targets. There's really nothing special
about my help; all that's needed is a runner who is willing to learn, step out of their comfort zone, has trained hard and
who is willing to respond under challenging situations quickly and
decisively.
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| Helping Alexander Calutas to a new parkrun PB of 23:25, a time bettered 3 more times this year! |
Some great success stories are: little Alexander Calutas continuing to run amazing PBs, Chris Edwin breaking the 20-minute barrier for parkrun and last year's running heroine, Kerri French, breaking the 2:20 half marathon barrier for the first time after pushing her to the absolute limit, despite being less fit than her previous outing.
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| Kerri French pushing herself beyond her limits in the 2014 Reading Half Marathon to a new PB of 2:19:53. |
But the one success story that I'm extremely proud of is my first coaching
stint of 2014. Meet my friend and former colleague, canny Geordie lass from Newcastle, Sarah Ormiston. That's Sarah on the left.
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| Sarah on her last day with Orion Health, August 2014. |
Sarah approached me in February to get some help to train for the Great North Run, an offer I was only too glad to accept. It was an event that evokes much Geordie pride and she also ran for a charity close to her heart, St Oswald's Hospice Limited.
After getting some information about her running background I drew up a training plan for her. We followed it as best as we could and, despite her constant protests of pain and suffering, she couldn't have done her preparation any better. And it showed; her baseline fitness showed a lot of room for improvement and, by the end of the training period, she was definitely running faster and for longer. We trained in Hyde Park, often in soaring temperatures or constant rain - imperfect conditions for running - and each of our training sessions lasted for nearly 2-3 hours.
Even though she left Orion Health before she was due to run the Great North Run, we still met up for training runs and did the mandatory debrief after her race. A new PB of 2:39, in uncharacteristically warm conditions. I can honestly say that she prepared, and ran, her big Geordie heart out.
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| Ready to rock it at the GNR! |
It wasn't sub-3 hours and it wasn't a new PB. But to finish the London Marathon in 3:04 closes the book on a long and hard road to recovery and full fitness after an injury in early 2013 where I couldn't run more than 50 metres.
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| Feeling bummed at mile 23 at my London Marathon debut. |
My debut at the London Marathon over a year ago was a very humbling
experience. I remember my legs completely dying on me at mile 16 (a
feeling I've never experienced so quickly before), the dreadful thought
that there were still 10 more miles to go, and that no matter how hard I
tried I just couldn't shake the funk that fell upon me. I dreamed about
running sub-3 hours and didn't get it, but that's the reason why dreams
are big and they're hard to get.
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| Mile 16, the point where I crashed and burned last year. |
12 months on from London, I went into this year's London wanting total redemption! Anything over a 3:05 finishing time would mean that I wouldn't have another chance to qualify for London next year, so basically London 2014 was my last chance saloon to ensure that I could have another shot to run in the world's greatest city. But, deep down, I really wanted that sub-3 hour time.
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| On a mission to get a sub-3 hour time at London. Myself and fellow Reading Roadrunner, Dean Allaway, crossing Tower Bridge on target. |
Since last year's injury, which had completely scuppered my running I
had a big task ahead of me to work my way back to full strength. Over
the winter, I resolved to train harder than ever before whilst also
taking better care of myself. It was a delicate balance of more mileage,
more speed work, more hills, more core work, more strength work, more
early mornings, more early nights and more recovery. There were times
when I was teetering precariously over the edge, but, considering that I
made it to the start line in the best possible shape I knew that I did
everything correct in training and that I was prepared to give it my
all!
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| Holding it together outside the Houses of Parliament, in very warm conditions. |
It was very difficult with the very warm weather, which ultimately denied me that sub-3 hour time but I also wanted redemption
and I got it! 3:04:28 gives me another shot at London next year and is
good enough to qualify for Boston as well. Most importantly, I've
managed to work my way back to full strength after a terrible 2013 where
I ran marathon times that were over 30 minutes slower
than my PB. It has been a very hard training period, with many sacrifices, but I would do it all over again in an instant and I can't wait to see what my next marathon time will be!
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| All the Good for Age Reading Roadrunners on The Mall after the marathon. All of us had our own difficulties out there on the course. |
Coming from NZ, where owning a car is pretty much a necessity, to go without a car for 6 years hasn't been that difficult as there is good access to public transport and I live in a convenient area that is close to everything I need.
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| The reason why Auckland suffers from traffic jams - too many cars |
But as I've firmly settled in the UK, the need to get to places not easily accessible by public transport has finally caught up to me and it was the point that I decided I needed to buy a car. In order to get a car, I needed a UK drivers license.
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| Swapping one of these..... |
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| .....for one of these |
No problems, I thought, as I already had a current NZ drivers license, which I could swap for the UK equivalent. Unfortunately, the DVLA declined my application as I was in the UK for too long. This meant I had to apply for the UK drivers license, take many driving lessons and pass the theory and practical test. In other words, learn how to drive again!
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| Learning how to drive, again! |
In hindsight, I'm glad that I did go down that road as driving in NZ and the UK is very different, with different road rules, speed limits, big roundabouts, older roads, and the need to relearn driving a manual car, which I've not done since 1997. Just like riding a bicycle, Melvin, my driving instructor was surprised that I picked it up on the first go, however he also pointed out many bad habits in my driving, which I won't disclose here, that would be a cause for failing a driving test.
20 hours of instruction later, the time came to sit the practical test and I only committed one minor error. The very next day, my friend, Louise, gave me a new car...
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| My first car in the UK, a toy Corvette. |
...which I later upgraded to this one.
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| My first car in the UK, a Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC EX. |
Well, at least it was better than this car that I received from Andy and Liz.....which was printed on a brochure!
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| My dream car, an Audi TT. |
Many road trips will be planned for the new year!
6: The year of Reading parkrun
It's certainly been an eventful year for Reading parkrun with many indelible memories, celebrations and achievements. Thames Valley Park was stricken with mass flooding for the best part of the first three months, so for everyone who frequents Thames Valley Park every Saturday morning it was a welcome relief to be back running where it all began. Although, while Thames Valley Park was out of action, the Reading parkrun faithful temporarily relocated to Dinton Pastures, where the Strollers Breakfast at the Dragonfly Cafe is to die for.
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| Outside the Dragonfly Cafe at Dinton Pastures, our second home. |
We've seen our volunteering base improve, with many new faces acting behind the scenes, taking the pressure of the core volunteers so that they don't have to volunteer week after week to bring Reading parkrun to everyone. Volunteering is really rewarding and actually doesn't take a lot of my time. To see others benefit from parkrun is just as good as running for yourself.
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| One of the few stints as Run Director this year. |
Highlights include our return to Thames Valley Park after 4 months away due to mass flooding, our 5th birthday, celebrating more milestones and birthdays, getting a new Reading parkrun PB by 1 second after two long years, being a run director at Louise's special birthday parkrun where she was mildly roasted by yours truly at the run briefing, and meeting so many new people and like-minded runners.
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| Run directing Louise's birthday parkrun, like a boss! |
I think my friend, Fergal, said it best about how parkrun has changed his life and it resonates well with me also - parkrun has proven a genuine stepped change in the quality of my life since coming on board approx. 2.5 years ago. A very small bit of that has to do with running, almost all of that has to do with the camaraderie, friendships & relationships I've formed since then. Thank you all for the great times, inspirational and wonderful community spirit I have enjoyed. I raise a toast to you all and to many, many more great times ahead.
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| Fergal's birthday party, September 2014, attended mostly by parkrunners. |
To close, all of this would not be possible without the efforts of the event directors and volunteering team, who bring parkrun to everyone on every single Saturday morning, so a big THANK YOU to all of you.
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| Some of the friendly faces of the volunteers at Reading parkrun. |
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