Falling back onto the wagon...

I had a plan last year.  OK, OK.  Actually, I had two.  I planned to run an Ultra and to complete 12 marathons in a year.  The Ultra went well but I didn't manage the marathons.  I finished 10.

After the Preston Guild Marathon, it looked like I could squeeze in the last two in November but I didn't really recover for a month after.  Guess I was trying for too much, too soon in my running.  Just as I was getting it back together, I got one of those colds that settled in my chest.  Every attempt to run for pretty much the whole of December left me wheezing after about 200 metres.  And that was the end of that year...


Of course, I did manage to slot in a third challenge:  The 5x50.  This was harder than it might have seemed as I continued to run the scheduled marathons as challenge progressed.  I'm sure the lack of rest was what did for me in the end.

Well, I'm back on the streets and have been running properly for 10 days now.  Ignoring the three or four short runs I managed in November and December, I did nothing for over two months and, boy, does it show.  I have a lot of lost ground to make up for.

It always helps me to have medium term goals so I'm planning a list of events to participate in.  Note:  I do not use the word "race".

I'm going to start with the Les Barjots Des Cotos, a 28k Trail run in a local town at the end of February.  This year, I'll skip the Semi de Paris which I have completed for the last two years but I will be trying to get another finish at the 80km EcoTrail de Paris.

I have another 3 definite dates in mind but will post more on those later.  For now, I have my work cut out getting from where I am to 80k finisher in around 8 weeks.  This is not going to be easy...