I intend to run the Leeds Half Marathon this year. I have taken part before, but last year it fell on the day of my daughter's Christening. Since then I have done the Bradford Half Marathon (2h4m, not a good time by my standards but the training wasn't what it should have been...) and a couple of West Yorkshire Winter League events. The WYWL runs are off-road/cross country and I have discovered that this is not my forte when it comes to running, I am most definitely a road-runner. But it can be fun to slosh around in all that mud from time to time.
I was feeling a bit like the training was going nowhere this morning so I decided to make a fresh start and set some goals. The first goal I set was to lose 10kg in 8 weeks. I decided this as I weighed myself this morning and I was 97kg. I would like to get down to 87kg by the end of March/April as I have a wedding to go to and I would like to fit in my brown suit a bit more comfortably by then.
For my next target, I have decided I will try and beat my Bradford 10k time from a couple of years ago, which was 44m 05s and a personal best. This one might be a bit of a tall order but, in for a penny, in for a pound. This falls in line with the first challenge as the Bradford 10k is on the 25th of March.
So when you set goals or targets, it's important to make a plan of action as to how you are going to achieve those goals. So here goes. I joined my local running club last October, but haven't filled in my membership forms. Well I sent them off this morning so I can enter races now and choose the affiliated member option without feeling guilty. I will enter the Bradford 10k tomorrow (at work ;P) so am committed to that at least. I will run on Thursdays with RC and maybe Tuesdays on my own and sometime at the weekend. As the weather warms up (hopefully) I will also go for some sneaky little runs in between those days. I will try to do one or two long runs in the lead up to the race as well.
Before all that, I need some new running shoes. The ones I am using now are very nearly falling apart and they have worn on the sole so much that my foot turns as I put it down. Not good. I have some off-road shoes (bought for the WYWL) but these are not up to road running as they have no cushioning in the heel. So I will make a trip to Sportshoes Bradford to get shod, as it were.
Well, that's all for now, wish me luck and I will keep you updated.
