I know.  I know I don’t update this place enough, and I’m a rubbish blogger, these days.  If it helps, you should see my other blog…. No, really.

Look, I basically do three things in my life.  I work, I run and I sew.  I write blogs about the latter two, and I’d write one about work, too, but I love you too much to bore you so badly!

So where to start?  I ended last year with a review of how my goals had been disrupted.  This year’s goal is basically to remain consistent.  To do three runs a week *every* week, *all* year.  I’ve signed up for the Virtual Runner 100km per month challenge, to keep me motivated.  At the end of the year, if I collect all 12 medals, I’ll have a neat, joined up super-medal record of my running year.

Without a marathon, I feared that training through the winter would be hard, so I signed up for Milton Keynes Half Marathon, to give me something to aim at.  And sure enough, training through the winter was hard, but I’ve improved my form somewhat and, in training at least, my speeds are much better than last year.   Training has been a little bit disrupted by snow, but on the whole my fitness is good, and my motivation remains – well, if not high then at least consistent!

The Half was last week.  I didn’t push myself, and didn’t race it, and so got myself a PW (personal worst).  But it was a lovely sunny day, and I enjoyed meandering around the lakes at Milton Keynes and through some pretty villages, too.  People’s capacity to come out and support these events is amazing!  And I got a medal, which says “well done, Vicki, you stuck to your training” as it glints at me from my medal board.  This photo shows my “pissed off with myself for not getting a better time, but look! Medal!” face.  Funny how I set out to enjoy myself, and comprehensively did, but the immediate aftermath is all about the time.  Always.  Fabulous suffer score, though, data fiends!  427 – truly EPIC!!

Anyway, the rest of the year contains Manchester 10k and probably the Town & Bloody Gown – again.  I’m following the Intelligent Running i10 programme, now, and I hope that one of those will yield me a decent time – they’re on consecutive weeks, so….  After that, I am blessed by an awesome team with which to run Endure 24, and the it’s on to Race To The King with my friend and colleague, Matt.  And then Great North Run and Great South Run to finish the year off with.

Meantime, there’s snow this week which is interfering with a threshold session which I might just have to man up and get on with shortly.  And Witney finally has its own parkrun!!  It’s a tough course – at least, in this weather it’s a tough course.  We have a swamp, a ditch, woodland trails and a sports field to run around.  It’s a lovely course, super fun (she says.  I haven’t run it yet, I’m waiting for the better weather!).  I’ve been volunteering for its first two runs, and will be for a week or few yet, I suspect.  But actually, people, being a parkrun marshal is an almost indecent amount of fun!  If you haven’t tried it yet, you definitely should!

I won’t leave it so long, next time.  Pinky promise.