Take everything in your stride

If there is something I have learnt from 2018, it is, you don’t know what is going to happen, or what the year will bring. I started off 2018 believing it could be my best year for my running yet. I was rapidly proved wrong when I developed an injury in the second week of January which only took until the end of March to diagnose. I was told 6-8 weeks, I knew it would be longer, but I never anticipated being out for 10 months! Yes I could say, 2018 was my worst year for running so far, but I don’t think that is true! If I look at it rationally I truly do believe it was one of my best years for running so far. Ok, I didn’t achieve any of the goals I had set at the start of the year, but I learnt so much more.

Setting goals helps us all. It motivates us through training as we are always working towards something. Sometimes setting year long goals is not the best thing to do. It’s best to have one big over arching goals and lots leading to this, as like me, your year could go completely opposite to the way you expected it to go.

So, I bet you’re thinking, ‘she spent the majority of 2018 being unable to run and she’s telling us it was her best year yet?!’. Yes this is true, but I also learnt so much about myself as an athlete and about my training that it has altered my outlook on my running for the better. I am now able to approach training with a rational mindset. I am focused on progressing, but in a way that has the minimal injury risk possible. I am more conscious of taking care of myself, and of the implications one bout of careless mindlessness can have on my body and mental state.

2018 produced one of the best things for my running that could have happened. It produced a more robust, strong, and resilient athlete. Whilst I am far more determined that I have ever been, I now have the body to work alongside that determination and help me achieve my goals. I have a body that is able to withstand the hard-work I put it through.

So, when asked what my goals for 2019 are, yes, I do have time based goals for 5k and 10k I would like to achieve, and representative goals, but the goal at the top of my list, is to stay INJURY FREE. Ensuring I am injury free, ensures I can work hard to achieve what I want to! I have also learnt to take every week as it comes and to enjoy the journey. Whilst it is all very well setting goals for the new year, I don’t know what the year will bring or what will happen. So the best thing to do, is go with it.