Hi all!
So there goes another year and a not too shabby one at that. For those who haven't read my posts before here is a blog I posted just over a year ago which explains my journey from 94kg, sedentary lifestyle to 68kg and C25K graduate:
healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
I have noted 9 highlights (I snuck a non running one in there too) which I wanted to highlight, I have briefly explained each one:
Promotion:
I got promoted at the beginning of the year at work and am now a manager of a team of 6 accountants at Ford. I included this because it might have been easy to use the extra workload as an excuse to cut back significantly on the running but I made sure to keep a good work/life balance and continue running. I also got good feedback from my manager before the Christmas shutdown so that shows that you can do well at work whilst maintaining a good balance.
Parkrunner of the month (March):
Each Parkrun give out a monthly award in the form of a Sweatshop gift voucher and I won the March award this year! I hadn't got any PBs around that time but I have been a regular since July 2013 and volunteer when I can't run. It was nice to get the recognition.
Hafsa Junior Parkrun:
A junior parkrun began with a week of my daughter turning 4 years old. She went throughout the summer and enjoyed it. We haven't been for 2 months due to her picking up a bug and then slightly losing the motivation in the bad weather. However she did ask to go on Sunday but it was below 0 degrees and icy so I had to ask her to wait until the weather is better. So naughty dad there, but if she picked up a bug at the beginning of her holidays my wife wouldn't have been pleased!
NHS Interview/mention on Parkrun podcast
All of us on HU were asked in the summer to participate in an interview if we were regular Parkrunners.
I was interviewed and here is the article:
nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/...
My NHS Choices interview was also mentioned during that weeks Parkrun podcast! You can hear it at 18:05.
marathontalk.com/parkrun_po...
3rd place in Barking Parkrun for 2013/2014
The Barking Parkrun year finishes in July and I finished in 3rd place in the points competition. The competition awards consistency rather than outright speed. There are many faster people than me but I turn up most weeks. The photo on this blog is me and my daughter Hafsa with the trophy.
Injury
I ran the Southend Half Marathon in June and created a training plan for the 2 months leading up to it. I was running 4 days a week with back to back runs on the weekends. As I ramped up my training my calves started to get very tight. I reduced my runs and their intensity which got me through to the half marathon. I then stopped running for most of July which was when I was fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan. I thought this would stop the injury but as soon as I started up again the injury came back which was very frustrating. It was fortunate that at the same time we were given an option of seeing a physio for free at work so I took up the offer. He told me to cut back to 3 runs a week and gave me stretches to do at home. The stretches have really helped to strengthen my calves and avoided a reoccurance of the injury. For anyone who is interested here is a link to the document he gave me:
dropbox.com/s/9j75bn17zw2ml...
50th Parkrun
In September I ran my 50th Parkrun. It was a week after Eid so me and a few guys clubbed together and bought some treats to share with all our fellow Parkrunners. Here is a link that includes a photo of some of the treats we bought along. I haven't got my 50th shirt yet due to the backlog, but I am happy to keep running in my C25K graduate shirt!
healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
3rd place Parkrun finish
I finished 3rd place with a time of 21:46 a few days ago when the bad weather and Christmas hangover cut the numbers at our run down to under 30.
PBs
So at the beginning of the year these were my PBs:
2013:
Half Marathon - 1:57:10
10km - 50:27
5km - 22:12
...and here they are now:
2014:
Half Marathon - 1:54:54 - I got this at the Southend Half marathon. It was one of the hottest days of the year so I couldn't push myself too hard, however it was still a PB.
10km - 47:44 - I got this yesterday as a nice way to round off the year!
5km - 21:21 - Since September I have been focussing on my 5km times and this has resulted in a significantly faster 5km time.
1km - 3:37 - In the summer I ran a relay race where I ran 1km and two friends relayed it by running 500m each. They beat me but I did run a very fast 1km!
So it has been a year full of achievements and I am now injury free, which is great. I am hoping to beat most of the PBs above in the coming year and to keep spreading the gospel of C25K wherever I can!
Happy running all!
Happy running and Happy New Year to you and your family 
Great afternoon run and lots of PBs!
My first ever race! 'Twas on the 9th June (2014)
Running for my mental health
This morning’s run was so lovely
