The New Year Objectives

As usual a loose set of objectives - not resolutions - to start the New Year.

It was so much easier writing New Year’s posts when my life could be divided into training and racing and goals were a matter of becoming faster. Not so simple now. In the last month I have thoroughly discussed my plans for 2013, most of what I want to achieve can be categorised either into: work, in the broadest sense, or life, which isn’t always relevant to these pages. My sporting performance could be relegated to a footnote, but out of a sense of sentimentality I will give it a paragraph of its own.

In fact it will be the easiest paragraph to write. In 2013 I will run. Specifically I will race at least one marathon and aim to beat my current personal best. On occasion I’ve spoken of setting a more significant PB and while that remains a possibility I’m waiting to see how my preparation for Brighton Marathon in April goes before I commit myself. If my motivation and commitment proves sufficient I will set myself a more challenging goal for the second half of the year; otherwise I shall keep my focus on general fitness and health.

My coaching business remains at capacity – when one athlete moves on another is there to take their place. It’s a comforting position to be in, but means expansion isn’t a realistic goal. Improvement is always an objective, although hard to measure in terms of outcomes, as a process though I can commit myself to further study and research alongside continued practice. Regrettably my personal focus remains with efficiency and time management, another year on and I have failed to master either. Any notion of taking my coaching further, of improving it, will be dependent on those two skills.

One specific focus is the training camp – reassuringly full and only 5 weeks away – the goal will be to ensure everyone has the opportunity to build and test early season fitness. I’m catering for a range of athletes so the biggest challenge will be ensuring they each get what they need from the camp. If athletes leave tired, fitter and importantly injury free I will be happy (as I hope they will be). If it is a success it may become a bigger part of my business in the future.

Without the framework of my own training there are times when I’ve felt this blog lacked direction, posts being a mix of semi-personal musings on my own failure to perform and occasional training advice. Despite this, I’ve seen a growing audience, particularly with the increased focus on training and results analysis. I will keep the mix of content, but recognise my niche when I see it. I won’t go into specifics at this point, but there are a number of data related projects I want to bring to completion in 2013.

The disappointment I felt reviewing 2012 has helped shape this year’s objectives into their current unspecific and less committing form. There is a risk that in seeking realism I have neglected drive and motivation and in December I may find myself reviewing a year that achieved little. As with any New Year there is a lot of potential, whether I make the most of it all is the important question.

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