Ending 2014 on a high – running over 120 miles and recording a PB in each of the last three months of the year – the middle six months where I didn’t run a competitive event now seem a long time ago. My primary PB focus this year was intended to be on distances of 5k and shorter, but that failed to materialise due to injury*.
Ending 2014 on a high – running over 120 miles and recording a PB in each of the last three months of the year.
One positive of being sidelined was that I took time to focus on weight management and successfully reduced my weight from around 73kg and rising, at the end of March, to around 67kg and stable since June. I am certain that my reduced weight has been a significant factor in the subsequent PB improvements I have made, although I’ve yet to realise all the hypothetical potential I calculated when considering my Stillman running weight.
Around 67kg and relatively stable since June this year, I am certain that my reduced weight has been a significant factor in the subsequent PB improvements I have made.
To minimise the risk of further injury during my extended recovery period, I chose to focus on restoring strength and endurance at the expense of absolute speed and so reverted to historical type and ran exclusively longer distance events. Hence the only targets I’ve needed to revise this year are those at 10k and above. The marathon I’ve only included for fun since my first marathon isn’t due until twenty sixteen anyway.
| 2014 season | 2015 season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| event | opening PB | target | events | improvement | target | |
| 800m | 2:25.9 | 2:19.9 | — | — | 2:19.9 | |
| 1500m | 5:18.2 | 4:49.9 | 1 | — | 4:49.9 | |
| mile | — | 4:59.9 | 1 | March 5:31.7 | 4:59.9 | |
| 3000m | — | 9:59.9 | — | — | 9:59.9 | |
| 5k | 18:58 | 17:59 | 13 | March 18:55 October 18:53 |
17:59 | |
| 5 mile | 31:36 | 29:59 | 1 | December 31:28 | 29:59 | |
| 10k | 39:33 | 38:59 | 2 | November 39:04 | 38:29 | |
| 10 mile | — | 67:53 | 1 | March 66:41 | 64:59 | |
| half marathon | 89:53 | 88:59 | 1 | March 88:16 | 87:29 | |
| marathon | — | — | — | — | 3:09:59 | |
Whilst the right hand column is optimistically labelled “2015 season target” I’m curious to discover if any of these ever need revising again; it may be that it could more accurately be labelled “lifetime target”. In any event, whether I can achieve these targets or not, I am hopeful that I have at least two or three more seasons where I’ll be able to improve my PBs in as broad a range of distances as I have in the last two. With an eye on 2016’s marathon I shall be doing everything I can to stay injury free next year and hope that this will enable me to run a similar number of events as I did in 2013. If this in turn results in PB achievements as extensive as either 2014 or 2013 I’ll be very satisfied indeed.
I’m hopeful that I have at least two or three more seasons where I’ll be able to record PBs across a broad range of distances as I have in the last two years.
Here’s to a Happy New Running Year. And a good one in all aspects of life for that matter! 🙂
* I have agreed with myself to stop linking back to the posts I made at the time, but am making a final exception as I say farewell to 2014 and re-spraining my right ankle back in March.
#blog @cicerunner 