Taking it easy

I'm posting this video that I really appreciated after having seen it on Dave's blog and now Scott's. It's just the usual stuff showing a runner ranting and raving about his injuries:

It's the Conflans 15km race tomorrow and there should be a good turnout from the club. Nico is pretending to be ill, preparing his excuses early prior to the race.

My objectives for the race are here, in order of priority :

i) Beat 56 minutes. 55:XX is a good time for me and looking at past results and the times of runners who achieved this, I think that it's a feasible proposal.

ii) Beat Fréd Poirier. He's beaten me over the past 2 years by a few seconds and despite his improvement this year, he is the man to beat for me.

iii) Get on the veteran podium. This is ambitious and depends on the field that turns up tomorrow.

iv) Beat Nico. This is my last opportunity (bar Houilles but I don't particularly appreciate this race) to claw back a race victory over Nico this year. He's feigning illness but if he turns up, he will push it hard to the end, even having run Florence marathon last Sunday.

Looking back at 2010

It's that time of the year when everybody looks back at the year past and reflects on what could have been, what worked and what to improve on in the future. Who am I to argue with the majority and if you can't beat them, join them and so here's my summary of the year.

Best race:

No doubt about it - Toulouse marathon was my best performance of the year. A day when everything went right and I felt good from beginning to end. If every race could be like this, I'd be the happiest runner in the world.

Worst race:

Low point of the year was pulling out of Fontenay 10km race in May when I was overtaken by Nico. First and last time that I've pulled out of a race and I'm not proud.

Achievements :

I've managed to achieve 2 of my objectives that I set at the beginning of 2010: marathon objective of under 2:55 and half-marathon of under 1:22:30 which I managed in Rambouillet. I also managed to set some new PBs for 15km, half-marathon and marathon. I could also include the 18:19 time I managed in Malakoff for a 5km race but I'm not sufficiently proud of this result to include it in my achievements when I set myself the unannounced objective of beating 18 minutes. I achieved two podiums with a victory in my age category for the 6,4km road race at Achères in June and a third place for my 5 km race in Kansas in the Summer.

Races :

20 races in all in 2010 : 2 x 5km, 1 x 6,4km, 3 x 10km, 3 x 15km, 1 half-marathon, 2 marathons, 3 cross-countries, 3 trails and 2 ekidens. A special mention for the ekidens which I really enjoyed. Running is mostly a solo occupation, between you and the watch but every now and then you have the opportunity to form a team and it changes the game completely. Will try and do more of these in 2011.

Hottest race - A divine run, Kansas in July. 29°C and humidity over 80% for a race that started at 7:30 am! Had grand ideas about beating 18 minutes for the 5km before I ran in these conditions.

Coldest race - Foulées de Malakoff in February. -2°C and a wind harsh enough to freeze your eyeballs in 2 minutes. Did not want to take my jacket off before starting this race. Didn't hang around at the end either!

Objectives for 2011 :

I'm going to maintain my 2010 objectives for 10km (36:30), 15km (57:00) and 20km (1:17) and add an objective for 5km of 17:45. My half-marathon objective is to beat 1:21 and marathon 2:50. These last 2 are looking tough as according to McMillan they're both better achievements than running a 36:30 10km.

Challenge :

Well the gauntlet has been thrown down for Nico and I'm waiting now for validation of our races for this year. The idea is to cover a broad a band of races as possible from 5km to the marathon. The points scoring is still being debated as counting victories is not enough but the quality of each race has to be considered. Any ideas are welcome and will be debated ...

So that's a summary for the year past and a quick look forward to this coming year. I'm excited already and I'm convinced that I'll be better this year than last. Should be good.