2010 (or 'Why Robert Peston Reminds me of the Ribble Valley 10k')

And so to 2010 – Happy New Year!

I started to rev up for the New Year this weekend. The first thing I ended up reading was the blog of BBC Business Editor Robert Peston. The usual under-stated Peston approach : ‘A cheerful first thought for the New Working Year.

Viewed across all economic sectors, the UK and the US are still submerged in debt: the aggregate borrowing of households, companies and government is equivalent to more than three times the value of everything we produce, still greater than at any point in peacetime history.

We have all read and heard several variations of the same story told in the Business Press. In the absence of any real news, time for the media to become crystal ball gazers. Predictions of hung parliaments; loss of AAA ratings; costly government borrowing; resultant cuts in state and household spending..and a second dip to make the first look like a hiccup. All this by the end of Q2. Looks like the business journalists have had a nice break and are all revved up to talk us into more financial difficulty.

As I have said in previous posts, we have focussed Lane4 not just to cope with the challenges of any future dip, but also to capitalise on any steady recovery. I’ll say more about how we are doing this in the next few months.

On the subject of a steady recovery though, as befits the return to work I have included a festive holiday snap (of sorts) below. This picture was taken by my wife Claire during the Ribble Valley 10k on December 27th. It shows some of the 900 hardy souls (me included) making their way across the freezing Ribble on their way out to a snowy adventure in the Lancashire countryside.

 I include the photo because the way I felt when it was taken - 800m into the race - mirrors pretty well how I feel today starting the working year. It was already clear that the conditions were going to be a bit tricky underfoot, and I definitely wasn’t sure how I would fare on a course I had never seen before. But I also knew I had done my preparation and was ready for a tougher workout. At least I thought I was.

As it turned out the race went pretty well in the end, but only after I struggled badly in the first half. It was not until I realised at the 5k mark that I had been going just slightly uphill since we crossed the Ribble that I began to understand why. When we turned for home, things really picked up for me. I actually went quicker in the second half than the first - which is very unusual for me.

So – back to 2010. The training and preparation is done, and the gun has just gone off. The Robert Pestons are talking up the course, and we sense the first few kilometres might well be tough. For all we know, the whole race might well be uphill. But here is hoping that the Q4 2009 hill repetitions will pay dividends!