NO RESOLUTIONS, JUST EARLY PLANNING

Before you know it, the last strains of Auld Lang Syne have been sung (probably  drunkenly if not poorly), and 2014 is underway. For many the drunken promises that comprise a New Year’s resolution will have been turned into a broken promise 10 minutes later, for others it’s 10 days. Personally I don’t believe in such things, so I tend to promise nothing that I won’t regret later.

Instead this time is all about planning the 2014 schedule which can be found at https://mhjeffrey027running.com/planned-events/. I do promise to alter the schedule accordingly should other events be added to the schedule should I believe these runs will assist my training for an event, or deleted should injury strike or other commitments take precedence. This will also act as my personal planner for the year in terms of booking leave from work, ensuring transportation is finalised and securing a warm bed (very warm in some cases) to rest the weary body before and after these events.

Run specific training will begin in earnest on the 27th of January 2014, with distances, routes and times differing from session to session. This date will give me a solid 13 week preparation covering hundreds of kilometres to properly prepare myself for a strong finish. It’s not that I don’t feel the finish to Melbourne was strong, far from it. But entering that event was virtually last minute and the training whilst strong over the shortened period probably wasn’t sufficient to achieve the goal that I had set out. Mind you physical problems in training didn’t exactly assist!

I mention run specific training given that I do perform some cross-training of sorts during this period. It is anticipated that I will be using the limited football training sessions to assist in overall fitness but also to sharpen up the mind and the legs for the endurance base that I need for marathon running I feel does need to be balanced with some sharper more powerful movement that footy can provide. It also helps that 2014 will see me notch up 200 games of country footy at an open aged (read senior and reserves) level which is the secondary goal to the running ambitions for the year. It is also because of footy that the destination for the 3rd planned marathon is yet to be determined. Whether I choose to run in Perth (which honestly is the preference given it provides more active recovery time for my second Melbourne appearance) or Sydney will depend on if the local team makes the finals series.

It may sound a little strange, but I also use work to help my cross-training. Part of my job requires me to lift parcels that range from ultra light weight to weights that under OHS laws we shouldn’t be lifting solo. Lifting and sorting these parcels to me are a cheaper way to condition the leg and arm strength as opposed to normal gym sessions that many prefer. I’m not saying that parcel lifting should be a substitute for runners with more talent than me, I’m just taking advantage of combining what I try to enjoy (training) with what finances the whole exercise (I’m not good enough to seek out sponsors, but if I get quick all of a sudden I won’t be hesitating in asking that’s for sure).

Training at the moment is much lighter compared to what it will be for several reasons. These months are being used to try to recharge the juice in my legs before asking them to perform at a high level for months to come. Plus work is naturally busy given Mr Claus is about to perform the duty that pleases children here there and everywhere….which reminds me, if ANY reader out there knows the first name of Mrs.Claus, then please send me a tweet (https://twitter.com/MHJeffrey027 is my home on Twitter, always taking new followers!) or fire a comment below. Like running that first marathon, I have a life’s ambition of discovering just what Mrs.Claus’ first name actually is.

Anyway, enough of non-running related stuff, except to tell you to stay safe this festive season. After all, I need you all to keep reading in 2014 and driving like a dill on the roads won’t help. See you in 2014!

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