Sporting Highlights: 2011

The year just gone has been my most active but also most rewarding. I’ve never tried so many disciplines, completing over 25 races, nor have I ever got such satisfaction from doing these races. I’ve also tasted the sweet smell of success, by winning two 10km road races, as well as coming top 4 in 4 other races.  I had the honour of representing Ireland in my age group at the World Duathlon Championships in Spain. My biggest memory, which still gives me an adrenaline buzz when I think of it, was completing the New York Marathon, something I never even dreamed of completing 12 months ago.

It was a year where I pushed the boundaries, setting PBs in 5km, 10km, half marathon and marathon. I also completed some new races, which were great fun, such as the cycling tours of Waterford and Kilkenny, as well as open water sea swimming in Kerry. I was surprised at how much I liked mountain running, no doubt helped by my immediate success on day one in Howth. I’d also recommend adventure races, as it’s a great way to explore beautiful parts of our country (pity we didn’t have time to stop and take photos on top of Mount Brandon during Dingle Adventure Race).

Training took on another level – I really believe that sports can help your body and mind to recover, especially after a day at the office. All my training sessions were logged on www.dailymile.com and it’s great to be able to look back on the year and get a sense of achievement from the many miles ran, cycled and swam this year. I clocked up over 350 hours training/racing this year. I ran over 1,300km, cycled over 2,900km and swam 100km. That equates to completing 0.11 orbits of the planet Earth. Maybe it’s easier to relate to the fact that I burned enough energy to eat over 1,000 doughnuts.

My training summary for 2011