Restart 2012

It's been nearly year since I blogged. It's been over a year since I ran properly. I've started both again, and hope to continue for a long time to come.

2011 was not a great year. It saw yet another move from one state to another, anxious times with kids, jobs, and a multitude of other things. I broke my toe early in the year, and really it took about 9 months to heal... which was painful! Towards the end of the year I became very sick and ended up in hospital with pneuomonia.

Still though I managed a couple of races (or attempts at them anyway). The Kokoda Challenge 96k on the Gold Coast was a highlight for me. Undertrained and overworked, but loving every minute of the time spent with 3 mates (Deb, one of my best friends; Claire, an old friend from years ago; and Scott, my little brother and long suffering male member of the team).

Doubting our ability to finish with a full team due a variety of factors, I was soundly proven wrong when we all crossed the finish line together in a bit over 24hrs! It was a shining moment in a year of blah.

After this event, I did zero running, compared to the minimal amount I did before it. I was working 60-70hours a week,days and nights, and frankly was just too tired to care. By the time December rolled around, I was keen to get moving again, mostly to get myself back to state of happiness I used to enjoy.

I was asked to help crew for a friend who was running the Coast to Kosi race in mid December. This is a 240km road race, from the ocean shores in New South Wales, to the top of the highest moutain in Australia. Since I will never enter this event, I was excited to help someone else make the journey. Wonderful!

The only other race I attempted this year (apart from 10km at Glasshouse... just for fun) was TNF 100k in May. I failed horribly. This was the 4th year for the event, and so far I had 3 finishes from 3 races. I was very proud of that, but 2011 saw me break the streak.

Lessons were learned... such as 'working all week, with no sleep, then driving 1000km to a race, bunking in with 5 people in a small room, and attempting to run 100k in some of the toughest conditions around is possibly asking too much'.

For those who are still reading (thanks) as this post is mostly to remind me about the bad times, as well as the good ones. And to remember that though things are sometimes tough, if you hang in there, it gets better.

Well I hung on, and now 2012 is already better. I've decided to run to work and back (12.5k each way) as my training. I still struggle to find the time to run, so adding a little to my 'work day' seems more feasible than coming home and then going out again. So far, so good.....

My brother is once again motivating me to move, checking on me each day to make sure I'm running enough and not getting slack :)

So here's to 2012. A year of renewing my passion for many things, but firstly for running.