The first month of any year does seem to last forever. Never been able to find the root cause, probably because we all try to start the new calendar year with a multitude of plans. Many people set themselves up for failure by trying to achieve too much, too soon and with little planning.

Trying to keep my goals attainable I want to focus on fitness and career as two distinct areas of my life. I had signed up for the Cancer Research UK Winter Run 10k with my colleague Rob to give me a target to focus for the near future. The race is tomorrow and I am disappointed to report that I have withdrawn forfeiting my entrance fee. Being hit by a chest infection which has kept me out of the gym for over two weeks, I was just not ready. Colleagues had made the case for just walking the course but that is not me! I wanted to run the full distance and give a good account of myself even smashing my 10k record from almost six years ago. My withdrawal while unfortunate has come after a great deal of reflection. Generally I always try to see my commitments through and I see this as a postponement rather a complete cancellation of my participation in runs in the future. Reviewing my gym workout card; I only made two sessions in January. The start to 2015 has not gone to plan at all but let us not lose sight of the bigger picture. Eleven months remain and while getting back on the wagon is difficult, the ultimate goal is consistency! I must be one of those special human beings whom actually lost weight during the Christmas period. The main factor in this was just like the year before (2013) I had only the statutory days off. As my cousin Susan said so well many many years ago. Being in the office meant sticking to my healthy pack lunch rather stuffing my face with chocolates, sweets and snacks as would have been the case had I been home. Being a creature of habit does help! Last year I made the biggest change to my gym routine since I started taking training seriously (2008). I joined the Friday evening spin class and in doing brought my independent gym session count down from three to two. I had hit the 12 stone barrier and was finding it extremely hard to get below this mythical wall on my weighing scales. In January 2014 I had started to watch all my food intake with the assistance of MyFitnessPal with a weekly weigh-in on Friday mornings. While progress had been steady to begin with I had hit this plato point and needed to kick start the burn. While there are many lunchtime classes offered at my office gym, they do not suit my working schedule. Classes last forty five minutes and when you factor in the time in the changing room before and after, an hour plus. I opted for the Friday evening graveyard session starting at 5:45pm. While ever so tempting to leave the office with the majority my colleagues at 5pm, having to work a full sixty minute class at full pelt does make you feel you have truly “earnt” your weekend!

Keeping track of progress is much easier in our app centric world but not having access to the latest smartphone meant I just updated my stats over on DailyBurn (formerly Gyminee). However this can because quite the administraitve burden and towards the middle of last year I just stopped. I saw little point, particulary as the few friends using the service had also stopped, so the element of comradery and competition just stopped. Being a data person I am keen to get my hands on a fitness tracker to track as many dimensions to my workouts as possible. However the market is a moving target, with new devices released almost on a weekly basis. I have changed my mind on which device to purchase for the past year. Originally I had my heart set on the FitBit Force but it was withdrawn from the market place due to the strap causing skin rashes for some customers. The waiting game started for FitBit to release their next range of devices. My heart was set on the FitBit Surge which was only just announced for sale in UK in the past week or so. I have vouchers from my birthday for John Lewis to use up but the UK retailer has no information on when they expect to stock the device. I enquired in all available options – in person at both Reading and Oxford Street branches and via an e-mail to the Head of Customer Service. No wonder the High Street goliath is losing its way in the digital age. However after reading several in depth reviews I have opted to not make a purchase, even though the software and community were a big part of the decision making process. The product just will not fit in with my lifestyle. Plus I require the option to extend the capability of my device over time. Rather than having to wait to purchase the latest device eighteen month or twenty four months later. The final decision has been made. I am going to purchase the Garmin Vivoactive (plus the heart monitor) when it is released on 30th March. The device is a smartwatch with all the standard trackers but the real appeal is the Connect IQ API which will enable third party developers to write applications for the device. This will really open up the possibilities. All I have to do now, is wait. As you probably already know, with me, patience is never a problem.