Originally published on January 12th, 2021.
On January 15th, I broke my ankle.
Updates to the plan:
- 18th January: Removed time targets from all goals, removed races from schedule for recovery
- 2 February: Put goals back for London Marathon in October. Republished
The Post
Last week, we talked goals. This week, we are on to races.
Not much more to say, except to get on to the business of it - this table will update as races are added (and, most probably, cancelled) over the course of the year:
| Race | Date | Goal | Time | Blog Post | Notes |
| Chase the Moon Olympic Park 5k | 24 Feb | 18:59 | I have no official 5k PB time, so anything will do. Parkrun PB is 19:19 Strava claims I've run 19:06 Won't be running due to a broken ankle. | ||
| The Big Half | 25 April | Aiming to better my 2020 time trial time. This will be seven weeks after returning to weight bearing on my ankle. If rehab goes well and the race goes ahead, I'll be on the start line. But no time goals. | |||
| Edinburgh Marathon | 30 May | Aiming for fast enough to gain entry in Boston 2022. Twelve weeks after returning to weight bearing. I can imagine that I might be up to running 26.2, but that's a future conversation with my physiotherapist. No time goal. Not even a start-line goal. | |||
| Asics London 10k | 25 July | This is the most insane goal of any here, but I'm going to ... use this as a time trial to see where my fitness is after returning from injury. | |||
| Paddock Wood Half | 5 Sept | ||||
| London Marathon | 3 Oct | 3:00:00 Finish. | Goal race I've decided to put my original goal back. I think that I can get back to base and put in a full training cycle before London. We're on. |
I'm not sure what to make of all that.
Original Thoughts
Based on my 10k times in late 2020, it seems a little weak - my 38:38 PB has equivalents of 18:38/38:38/1:25:31/2:58:27 - the plan has me slower on 3/4 of these at the end of 2021.
That said, I'm also planning to PB every single race I run this year, according to the table, so maybe it's plenty ambitious.
Let's go run.
Revised Thoughts
Update: 2 February 2021
The racing goals have really been messed about by my broken ankle. I've now indicated that I'd like to run both the Big Half and Edinburgh Marathon, but with no time targets.
In reality, I still don't think either will happen.
The COVID vaccination schedule and scale of these races basically eliminates the possibility. Add in that The Big Half has a section on cobbled streets (hi, I'm a guy recovering from a broken ankle!) and Edinburgh is 26.2 miles less than three months from being allowed to start to put weight on my right leg again ... and I'm pretty sure my physio will tell me to get real.
I'm planning to listen.
BUT ... I feel that the big goal is still intact. Decent mileage should return by the summer, and a proper training block will take me to the start line of the London Marathon in October.
And from there?
A time that qualifies me for New York and Boston, and a 2022-23 season that sees me pick up 3-4 World Marathon Major stars.
Yowzers.
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