Ooops....

Our title says it all... for the first time in the three years we've been blogging we missed a Sunday deadline!

Christmas has a serious talent for jumbling the days of the week up and before we knew where we were it was Monday!

This time last year Tom and I just got married, honeymooned in Miami, returned home for a fairly unceremonious Christmas and then disappeared off to Lanzarote for one of the hardest training camps of our lives. What a way to start 2009... exhillarated but exhausted!

Twenty-ten is going to be a whole new year and a very different year. If there's one thing we won't be starting the year with it will be fatigue. On Boxing Day Tom and I love to run the Chevin Chase, a 6.9 mile challenging off-road run. Last year having just returned from the States we had our worst ever races on the Chevin. Jet lag and the general malaise from our honeymoon weren't really the best prescription for a good race. This year we went into it in much better condition, following a wonderfully relaxed Christmas with plenty of key run sessions. Regular readers will know we've both struggled a little with our usual commitment to the pool and for Tom on his bike, however running races have been going well and this year's Chase (albeit it an icy snowy challenge) was a huge improvement on last year will both of us placing higher than 12 months ago, and it felt great to race on strong legs even if they were a little too full of quality street.

So, we're putting the finishing touches to 2009 with way too much chocolate, mince pies and the kind of food I might as well just clag to my hips. Unfortunately moderation wasn't one of the gifts from Santa this year, however we have managed to get out and put a fair few running miles in.

At the minute I'm sitting typing this at my mum's house in South Shields with a full tummy and a DVD on the box. Tomorrow we're back to Leeds and counting down the days to January the 1st and the start of an exciting year.

See you in 2010 with some really exciting news,

H (& T) x