This year I’ve decided to produce a short summary of my training at the end of each month. I want to look at the positives and negatives of my training. My review of January is available here.

What worked well? What were my running related achievements? What would I do differently given the opportunity? I’ll then draw a line under each month and look ahead to the next month.

Winter miles, summer smiles

In February a combination of the lurgy and a random foot niggle meant that I managed to run the not very impressive total of 20 miles. I completed six runs and spent just over three hours running around the streets of Four Oaks, the local athletics track, and Walsall Arboretum. Once again I’ve created a summary of my training runs using the Sisu website.

The highlight of February was finally achieving a parkrun personal best time of 27:49 at Walsall Arboretum. Consistent and structured training really does work!

Another highlight was raising 25 per cent of my £500 London Marathon fundraising target for Samaritans. Only another £375 to go. A huge thanks to everyone who has sponsored me. You know who you are!

Although there weren’t any real low points, not attending the Leadership in Running Fitness course was disappointing.

Running costs

February was a relatively cheap month. I bought some Boots ibuprofen gel (£5.99) for my foot. The gel made no difference. I won’t waste my money again. I also purchased a personalised Walsall Arboretum parkrun t-shirt (£27.50) and some Bridgedale running socks (£18.97).

So much for not buying any more running gear!

Looking forward to March

The first week of March will see me complete my first official race of 2016. I’m really looking forward to pulling on my Club vest and to running around the Cannock Chase trails on Saturday morning.

I’m also looking forward to finally making the transition from running in Brooks Transcends to Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16 trainers. March will see me complete two contrasting 10K races; the Mash March Madness in Cannock Chase and the 7 Pools Run in Sutton Park. I can’t wait to test out my trail shoes in the Sutton Park mud!

Finally, there is also the small challenge of me swimming 1.5K for Swimathon.

Here’s to a successful (and hopefully injury free) March!