January month in review

It’s fair to say that January was a mixed bag for me. I spent the first ten days nailing my training only to follow it with two weeks off injured, before making a comeback of sorts on Wednesday.

Anyway, rather than bore you with that, here is how my month panned out under the usual headings…

Miles run in the last month = 116

I actually expected it to be much lower than this and am only one mile down on my November total so that’s good news.  

If I’d been fit throughout the month and completed the training plan I’d have racked up 160 miles which is way more than I’ve ever done. So maybe rather than fretting about my injury, I should probably focus on the fact my body was telling me to relax a bit… (I know that sort of cavalier attitude will come back to haunt me come 22 April, I’m sure.)  

Time spent running = 15 hours and 14 minutes

I haven’t checked, but my guess is that would be about the same time Fernando Torres / Andy Carroll are averaging between goals for Chelsea / Liverpool. Not bad for £85M of talent.

Equally, I also have a feeling it would have been roughly how many minutes of hard work that England’s batsmen ruined in 60 minutes of madness on Saturday morning. Either way, it’s quite a high number.

Pre-6am starts in the name of running = 9

Wow, nine pre-6am starts. That is proper dedication, especially in the coldest month of the year so far. No wonder I feel permanently knackered!

Night’s out sacrificed = 0

I can’t remember being invited to many things last month let alone having to sacrifice them. So my marathon running is either making me extremely unpopular. Or it’s January. Or both.

I did manage three or four pretty heavy nights out though, so you’ll be pleased to know I’m not living like a monk. In fact, after the Incisive Awards I was in such a bad way that I could barely deliver someone’s leaving speech at 4pm the next day. A sure fire sign that I’m getting old…

Some of the things I’ve learnt this month:

• The wonderful world of the web. I thought I’d have a look at the stats for this blog and I can exclusively reveal that 57 people from Russia have been reading it in January. I’m not sure how they found it, or who they are, but hey, I’m not fussy. какой-то шанс некоторые спонсорские pelase? (Any chance of some sponsorship please?)
• People always take the mick when you say you’re heading off for a run. They think you’re some kind of deranged individual. However I’ve got to say it’s an absolutely brilliant way to see new areas. My father in law Bob gave me a lovely 10 mile route around the Norfolk/Suffolk border this month – without it, I’d have never seen a lovely part of the country. In September last year I also did what I consider to be the best ‘tourist 10k’ ever in Washington DC. I was pushed for time so wouldn’t have got to see anything – instead I got up jet-lagged, and saw the Senate, White House, Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool, WWII Memorial and Lincoln Memorial all in a 50 minute jog. Not bad going really… 
• I’ve never been to a sports physio before. They’re really quite good aren’t they?

My best 10K - Capitol Hill down to the Lincoln Memorial & back

I’m off to do the Watford half marathon at the weekend and I’m aiming to do it fully 13 minutes slower than my last one in November. In a bizarre way, it will actually be quite difficult as I need to rein in all of my competitive instincts. I’ll let you know how I go next week…

And I’m telling you this because…

I’m running the 2012 London Marathon for the Hertfordshire Community Foundation (HCF).

If you feel inclined to sponsor me to help the Hertfordshire Community Foundation continue their great work, you can do so here:  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BenWood2