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Happy New year my footlings,

I hope all this wind has not blown you all away. I always find wind and rain the worse to overcome when it comes to exercsing. Mix this in with the dark evenings and pretty much everything is against you. DO NOT GIVE UP ON ME FOOTLINGS! Stay commited and atleast get out the door and get something done. Even if you reduce your run atleast you have burnt off your food intake for the day!

The New Year gives everybody an opportunity to start again fresh and I hope you will take this enthusiasm into your training especially, if you are running a spring marathon. I thought I would give you some tips on what you need to think about/ prepare as you start your training program for the many races coming up. This is very important because you need to break your training down into manageable blocks. I have some questions for you to think about as you start the new year.

What are your goals?

If you are a beginner you may not understand your ability, your fitness and your selected running event. So, for now you may not be able to answer the question (unless it is I just want to finish). Many people predict times on what other people achieve (i.e. a work colleague or family friend). My advice is to leave your predictions for now and just focus on getting stuck in (gradually) to your training. You will be able to reassess your goal as you gain more experience.

For the more experienced runners try and identify what time you would like and ask yourself if they are achievable. Look back at your previous best and break down your training into separate parts. Look at what mistakes you made and what worked well. Was your diet good? Did you do enough long runs? How organised was your training week? Be harsh on your previous attempts and make a New Years resolution to improve your weak areas. 

How much do you want it and is this realistic?

How much time can you realistically commit to your target. Being committed 100% at the start is great but remember training is a marathon and not a sprint!

You need to be committed for the whole program and not dip in and out of it like a gym membership. As a little footling my coach always told me to run when you can run because you will always have days when you cannot run and wish you could! This includes running when you do not have any injuries but 'just dont feel like it'. If you pick up a niggle a couple weeks later you may regret not going out because of the wind.

Why do this on your own?

My final tip is to try and find someone you can run with early on. Running on your own in horrible weather can be hell so why not share this pain with someone else! Find a running friend or even better go find a friendly running club. If you are in the UK you should have a look at this running database.

Use this time now to plan your training and think about what you want from this year. If you have not chosen a training plan yet we have plans for all abilities and races. 2012 is going to be one hell of a sporting year so let's do this!

If you have any questions about starting up or need some advice on training please comment below or send me a message. Happy New Year again and hope all this horrible wind has not blown you away!