I’m a little late to the end of year recap posts, but I like using my blog to have things to look back on so it was important of me to still pen down some thoughts….lest I forget things!!
2022 was a lovely year for plenty of reasons. For the first time since I started this blog in 2020, we reached a year where the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t put much of a spanner in the works. Which was excellent. I very much hope it’s the last time I have to mention it in a blog post at all! I was able to run consistently through 2022, with no real injuries, no dramas and even packing up the trainers to take abroad. Me from a few years ago definitely would not be taking them on holiday with her…how things change!
2022 was also the year I got engaged, which is definitely not something I’ll be forgetting any time soon! However it’s important to remember that lovely things may be going on alongside other parts of your life which may be more of a struggle. I struggled with my job this year for several reasons, not least feeling unchallenged and unmotivated. I also struggled with being a long way away from some of my close friends. And I had plenty of sluggish, slow and unenjoyable runs.
Last year I wrote about how the year had made us all better runners. This year my musings center around not forgetting about the little things that make us happy – the routines, the habits, the sunny days. This is both a life thing and a running thing, right? When it comes to our running, it’s so easy to focus on the big things – the races, the training, the PBs, the ‘cool’ stuff. Which is obviously great. But what’s also obviously great is the stuff behind all of that – the 5k runs around the park with no pressure, treating yourself to new running gear, realising that going out for a run is something you enjoy doing…
The end of the year is full of recap posts, and it’s worth remembering that these are most often the highlight reels. No-one’s year is full of constantly amazing achievements. We should celebrate when those happen, but we should also remember that most of our years are made up of the little moments that keep the weeks and months ticking by. I really realised this myself when I put together my own highlights reel of photos and footage for Instagram – I LOVED putting it together and it’s such a happy video to look back on (it’s below!), but the majority of it is made up of everyday runs, training away, in my little routine. I did 4 races last year, which were fab, but there was a hell of a lot more to my year than the medals and the race times. Someone said to me, “you’re very smiley in your running reel!” and that was one of the best things they could have said. So as I write down my highlights and favourites from 2022 below, I’m so pleased to be able to have the combination of things to look back on – big things and little things.
So, as we kick off another year, here’s to a few more big moments and LOTS more little joyous moments.
Love,
Ele x
Highlights of 2022 – in no particular order!
- Royal Parks Half Marathon – I was lucky to get a ballot place for this race which is a super race through London’s royal parks. I trained for this race for 3 months and was really pleased with my performance on the day. Half marathons are HARD, people. I blogged about the race here if you are interested in the recap.
- 10k PB to end the year – Ok, I know what I just wrote above about the little things, but I also wrote that we must celebrate the good things and this was indeed a good thing. This was a cold and frosty December day, but I gave it some good welly and I was thrilled to PB over the 10k distance to wrap up my year. It was at a RunThrough event in Battersea Park, which are great local races for the Londoners here.
- Training with Purdue Performance – I won a competition at the start of 2022 for 3 months of training with Purdue Performance, how cool was that! I was so excited. I never win anything! (No really, I know everyone says that). I was able to claim the training at any point in the year and so once I knew I’d be running the Royal Parks Half I decided to make best use of it for that race. I trained with the lovely Andrea Seccafien. Having your own coach was a really great experience, which I have paused for now, but have by no means said no. Maybe 2023 will be the year I’ll go back to it…
- Running on holiday, here and away – As I mentioned above, running on holiday is a fairly new thing for me, but once it becomes a part of your lifestyle it becomes less of a big deal. This year we traveled to Amsterdam for a city break and Santorini for an autumn holiday and I enjoyed a short run in both places! We also holiday in Cornwall, UK often and that is a stunning place to be able to run. I count myself lucky that running is a hobby I can bring to these lovely places.
- Getting a place in the Berlin Marathon – ah, SO, this was a right one. As runners do, we enter ballots for races we never expect to get a place in. So lo and behold, my total surprise when I opened an email saying I had been pulled out of the hat for a place to run one of the Marathon Majors – Berlin 2023! This was a bit of a stickler because the race is two weeks after our wedding this year….but runners be runners and can’t say no to a Major. So watch this blog space, as I’ll be writing more about the Berlin experience later on.
- Getting engaged the day before a 10k race – A blogger of any topic can’t ignore getting ENGAGED right?! A whirlwind and fabulous experience and currently we are planning a wedding for autumn 2023. Very exciting. But in honour of my fiancé proposing the day before I ran the Vitality 10k in London, I credit him with my average (for me) finish time on the day….running with a new diamond ring on is sure to distract me on race day! Great day though and great event nonetheless…!
- Joining Tooting Run Club and going to track – this year a new running club was launched near me in London. It’s amazing as it is totally free to attend and one of the most inclusive clubs I’ve come across. I was, of course, too scared to go to a session for months (classic) but I eventually bit the bullet towards the end of the year and went to their interval sessions on the local athletics track. I have done plenty of speed and interval work before, but never on a real track (!) so that was great. I also credit just a few sessions with helping me achieve that 10k December PB. I hope to train more with TRC in 2023.
- Ducking out of the Hackney Half Marathon – in May I chose to pull out of running the Hackney Half Marathon in London. I’ve put this down as a highlight because, whilst I so wanted to tick it off the list, I actually genuinely didn’t feel ready to run it when it came around and life had just got in the way of my training for it. I felt it was more sensible to not force myself around a course I may end up hating and just take it on the chin. I felt totally ok with my choice and moved on with my life. A reminder that it’s ok to say no to things and to just move on from them!
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