2014 - A Summary.

A Brief Review of a year where not much happened and yet everything happened.

Yes it's nearly the end of January and I am sure for the most part people have either forgotten about 2014 already or bave certainly stopped caring about it. For those of you who do remain remotely interested, here are my thoughts.

The year started for me with big plans and in truth they were probably too big for me to ever achieve. The main plans became to run GUCR and Ensure24. I was also signed up to SDW50. In the plan was also the Eastbourne half, the beachy head marathon and the beacons ultra.

The details of why this ambitious calendar did not play out is in some parts arbitrary as it will likely slip into a list of reasons that are tantamount to excuses. In truth I did not factor in other elements away from running. With making any excuses the undeniable fact is I did NOT train enough. The races I was going to enter were not small tasks and deserve the utmost respect.

I quickly recognised that GUCR was beyond me and stepped back from this and offered to buddy my friend Bryan through the last 45 miles.

The previous paragraph really sums up the perspective on targets. I certainly didn't do no running. In fact I went sub 2hr for Eastbourne half, ran last 45 miles of GUCR in sub 11hours (making bryan's own run epic). I pulled out of endure24 after 5 laps in 5hours (more on this later) and completed Beachy Head Marathon in about 6 hours whilst having an interesting plod around the Beacons Ultra (46 miles).

Despite the running I had not trained the way I had previously for the Centurion Running Downs Double. I had put weight on and my work life/ family life had fallen out of balance. Not to mention that my wife was pregnant and suffering badly and then in July of 2014 our precious baby girl was born. It was a busy year away from running.

2014 has been an absolute triumph for me. I have my little family with everyone fit and well. We are a strong unit and watching my children grow is one of the greatest gifts I have. Their would be a void in my life without my family that no amount of running could fill. I am very lucky to have them. More specifically I am very lucky to have a wife who accepts my madness.

With my little family all safe an well I am now able to turn my attentions to 2015. In 2014 i dropped out of endure24 as didn't want to risk major injury with my wife heavily pregnant. The balance between running and life really has had to become an emphasis before training plans could begin.

Out of the failure of last year I have been able to reflect. The sense of security and support I have from a loving family provides the determination to kick on. I absolutely love to run, but it is not the only thing in my life. Whilst it's a passion it cannot come at expense of family happiness. I couldn't be luckier than to have my wife and 2 wonderful children. I have a duty to support them as well as myself.

In talking to my wife we have worked out a strategy for us both to get fit and healthy in 2015 and for me to chase some pretty ambitious goals. Being part of a family unit just means we work and plan together. I know what training I need to do. I also know that my work is to fluid to plan a month at a time. What we are doing this time round is planning a week at a time on a Sunday evening. This sets us both up for the week. In addition we now share a calendar and so no confusion or overlap of plans occurs any more. With this plan in tow I hope to look back at 2015 knowing this was the first year I achieved everything I wanted to, but with the knowledge that 2014 was the year I actually laid the foundations for this success.