Looking back on 2019
Just like that 2019 if over and for me it’s been fantastic running wise, mainly because I’ve never been so consistent with my running throughout a whole year. I managed to hit a minimum of 100 miles a month and my highest month was 226 miles achieved the month before the Berlin Marathon.
Races
I’ve also had a good year of races starting off with the Chichester Corporate Challenge in March. It’s a 2.7 mile race around town which takes place every other week on a Wednesday evening. The first week I finished with a time of 15:43 averaging 5:40 per mile. The 2nd week I improved and finished with a time of 15:39 and the final week I took another 3 seconds to finish in 15:36. These three races set me off on a high and it felt so good running at speed.
In May was my local 10k and I’d been hoping to get a new PB as mine had stood since 2015! I set off a little conservative and then kicked as I got to the 5k mark. Finishing in a time of 38:11 which was a new personal best for me. This was followed 2 weeks later at the Worthing 10k where I ran below my previous best whilst being hungover. All was looking good
As a warmup for the Berlin Marathon I ran the Seaford Half Marathon near Brighton. I went over with my best mate the night before and we had a great evening, it was his first half marathon too which made the whole weekend special. The course was a tough out and back 4 lapped route along the very windy seafront. Despite conditions not being perfect I finished in 7th place with a time of 1:26 which was another new PB.
Then came the big one, I’d been waiting almost a year for this and finally the time had come to run my 3rd ever marathon, it was the Berlin Marathon. I flew over on the Friday with my partner and mate Mark. My race plan was executed perfectly and I finished in a massive PB of 3 hours 11 minutes 8 seconds. You can read more about my Berlin Marathon weekend in my previous post.
My final race of the year was the Benidorm 10k. A group of about 15 of us go over every year for a bit of fun and to round off the year. It’s normally quite messy with a lot of us struggling to make the start line on Sunday morning let alone make the finish line. However we all get it done and this year I took my new go faster Nike Zoom Fly 3 race shoes and beat my previous PB by a few seconds brining it down to 38:08
Favourites
Book: This year I finished reading ‘Running with the Buffaloes’ written by Chris Lear. The book follows the University of Colorado cross country team during the 1988 season to the NCAA cross country championships. This book has inspired me lots this year, seeing how the coaches have got their team running so well and what they have achieved. If you need a book to read this is the one.
Link: – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Running-Buffaloes-Wetmore-University-Colorado/dp/0762773987
Shoe: This is a hard one as I’ve bought a few shoes later on in the year and haven’t put in enough miles in them to properly judge them yet. So going on that I’m going to say my favourite shoe this year was the Nike Pegasus 35 Turbo (2018 edition). This is all down to it being so versatile, if I fancy using it for faster tempo work it’ll handle it well, in the same way that it’ll handle easy runs well. The Zoom X foam really does reduce some of the pounding on your legs.
Running accessory: For me this will have to be the Salomon Agile 2 running hydration pack. I bought this pack in the spring to replace having a water bottle belt around my hips, I’m not sure about you but I find having a belt around your hips is irritating and mine always used to move around a lot! The backpack sits comfortably and is so light it doesn’t feel like it’s even on my back, I can carry 1 litre of water and I even have extra space for my phone, keys, spare top and gloves.
Personal
In June 2018 I became the Press Reporter for my local running club, Bognor Regis Tone Zone Runners. This was really special to me as I enjoy this side of work and it’s something I have a passion in. Since then I’ve created the public Facebook page, Instagram and published nearly 50 different race reports in various local newspapers and online.
In September 2019 I became running coach for my club. I was asked by our Head Coach if this is something I’d like to do, I’m always up for challenging myself and experiencing as much as I can. I really enjoyed the course and learnt a lot from it, since then I have been finding my feet and have lead a few club nights, it’s also helped me become more confident in myself.
After struggling with mental health in the past few years I found running really helped me, whether I’m running hard in a session or race or whether I’m having an easy day it always clears my mind. I’ve made lots of great friends from running and the social side is more important to me than chasing down new PBs (although they are really nice)!
Stats:
Miles ran – 1,657 (From London to Moscow)
Time spent running – 221 hours 30 minutes
Elevation gain – 35,423ft (equivalent to climbing Mount Everest twice)
Average weekly mileage – 34 miles
Got a new PB for every distance
23 parkruns
What I’m hoping/aiming for in 2020
I have three main targets for 2020:
- Is to introduce more hill work, I really want to try and double the elevation I’ve done this year. Aiming to get stronger legs and hopefully this will show with my results
- I’ll also be aiming to focus on more core work. I started off this year with doing it once a week but after 8 weeks I became really lazy until recently. I won’t be heading off to the gym but I have my own plan to do at home, this is all to build a great base.
- And finally I’d love to have a new batch of PBs, I’ve managed to get a full batch this year (5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon) so I’m hoping to do it all again next year!
I hope you’ve all had a fantastic 2019 and have an even better 2020. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts throughout the year.
Jack Penfold 