End of the Year

It's been a mixed year for running.  It had some good points - some long runs and fun in Horseplay, and some bad pints - lots of calf strains and an aborted OMM.

The injuries in particular nag me. Maybe I am just getting old.  Maybe it is the forefoot running. But I never seem to be able to shake off the calf strains.  I'd guess I spent 30% of this year unable to run properly. Even now I am sitting here with a calf that hurts after a 1.5 mile run yesterday, still not mended.

So what do I want to do this year?  I have a few clear targets:

• Railway Run - 2 February - Run from Winchester down the Itchen Valley and then train home.Not sure how far yet. Probably the 11 mile route if I have managed to train at all by then.
• Horseplay - I'd like to do better than last year, with Pete next to me. We did well last year, but the hills beat me. I want to be fit enough to power up the hills and still have enough to keep the speed up over the last couple of miles of downhill and flat. That'll mean doing a lot more hill work before March!
• 5x50 - starting again at the end ofMarch, hopefully with a village team as well as work and Alice.
• OMM - We failed this year. Neither of us was really fit enough, and then Pete's injury finished us off.  So clearly some recovery to be done. Pete would like to do the Medium Score again, and that'll be fine. I'd like to do a C Class some day, as I feel it has beaten me, and I'd like to conquer it. Maybe in 2014.
• Stay uninjured! - Not really sure how to achieve that except being careful, stretching and strengthening exercises.

In amongst things I'd like to do some runs in the hills and mountains, maybe bivvying overnight. 

I'll look back in 12 months and see how I have got on!