2.0.

We all knew it was a possibility.

Recently I’ve raced twice, eaten in restaurants, and trained in a group, but those times are once again on hold as the UK re-enter’s a national lockdown. 

There are more dramatic effects to be felt by others apart from myself, the most immediate impact that the second lockdown will have on my life is the cancellation of this weekend’s Dambuster10 – a race in the Peak District which I was hoping to round out this weird but sometimes wonderful running year with. 

All in all, that’s not so bad, is it? I can still go running, inside, outside, on the road, in the woods, in the mud.

So what will I do without the race? Have a go at a time trial in its place? Keep on training hard and cross my fingers that I might race in December? 

For a start I don’t think I will be racing in December, because I do not think that we should take it for granted that will be out of Lockdown part Deux in just a month. Even if I thought that was likely, I would probably not stay on the same training trajectory. If the race had gone ahead I would have used the week following it to take it easy and reset my body, effectively underlining my Autumn training, before making some decisions about what I want my next block to be focused on. 

The race is gone, but the training is done. The really hard work is completed. So, the rest is still required. New decisions about future races and Winter goals need to be made. Reflections on Autumn’s goals need to be had. 

I wanted consistency, a 5k pb, a 10k pb, and some running done in some new and beautiful places. 

I’ve done all of the above, and have enjoyed some of the best running of my life during this past season, and when I say best I don’t just mean fastest, I just mean best. I mean most fun. I mean most exciting, engaging. 

But, there is one thing that I didn’t do: a sub-5 mile. 

For whatever reason, in the end I didn’t even try it! So, this Saturday, as a goodbye to this training block and in preparation for the slowly approaching Winter, I’ll be hammering a mile as fast as I can. But before then, and after then, I’ll be taking it real easy as I give the legs a much needed break and slide into a new training block, whilst I make those exciting decisions about racing in the new (hopefully lockdown free) year.