60 miles

For the very first time ever, last week I ran over 60 miles. In fact 60.28 miles by my Garmin GPS watch.

For me, this is a major achievement and although I know many other runners who clock up far more, I do believe that this is probably the most I'll do in a little while.

The reason, of course, is clear. I am running my final half marathon of 2012 near Trowbridge on Sunday and I really do want to try to beat the 89 minute mark. I only need to do 1.5 seconds per mile faster than I have run my last three races and I will do this!

I remember back in 2006 when I first took up running and met a guy who I assumed was about as good as me. I assumed that my 25 miles a week was pretty good at the time and was utterly shocked when he told me about his 60 mile weekly mileage. Of course, I also learned that he had PBs which were massively better than I could even dream about. Since then, I have always been careful when comparing myself against other runners as it is very easy to make assumptions due to weight, gait or slow training running which bear no resemblance to the speed they can run in a race.

There are so many things about my 2012 challenge which have had a lasting impact on me. I am fitter and faster, have run more miles in a year than ever before and have several new PBs. But the key thing I think I have learnt is that I really enjoy my running and the ability to challenge myself on a regular basis. If you assume that you have achieved the best possible, it is easy to start believing it. That is how I felt after getting my sub 90 minute half marathon PB in 2009. For two years, I accepted that I would probably never better it.

My 2012 challenge has made me believe that I can always still improve and challenge myself to do better and I hope that I can carry on doing this in running and life in general.