It has been one month since I received the e-mail advising that the Boston Marathon had been postponed to September. In that time I have had most of my planned races for 2020 either postponed or cancelled.

Postponed:

• Manchester Marathon
• B.A.A. 5k
• Boston Marathon
• Ironman 70.3 Mallorca
• Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire

Cancelled:

• Tour of Tameside
• Ironman Ireland
• Ironman UK

During those first few weeks, motivated took a hit. Not knowing when I will race or which race was going to be cancelled next made it difficult to train for any specific event. With everything around us also going crazy with the COVID-19 pandemic, schools closed, working from home, shops closed and then the lockdown, it has just been a big stressful and worrying time.

I have carried on doing some form of training, although the run training has decreased in distance and intensity. I always run by myself and along quiet country lanes, this past month has been no different for me, I have continued to train by myself and cross to the other side if I see a runner or walker ahead. With stopping the marathon training, my runs are now around an hour and mostly at an easy pace. Building on the base built over the first 10 weeks of Boston training,

Unlike a lot of people I follow on social media, I have not seen the temptation to “cash in” on the marathon training out of fear of “losing the fitness”. I have seen many people running marathon distance local runs or in their gardens. My opinion is, I would much rather maintain what I have gained and then start marathon training 16 weeks out from the new Boston date with a much better base fitness level, hopefully giving me a better chance of running a good race.

I have been using the indoor bike trainer a lot to try to maintain some cardio fitness and also follow the government guidelines of one 1 hour local run, cycle or walk per day.

I do not think going outdoors to cycle 40 plus miles is the right thing to do at this time, I feel risking coming off and requiring emergency assistance is the wrong thing and taking up the time of our emergency services and hospital space is not going to help the situation, plus going to a hospital is the last place I want to go to right now.

I am so glad I invested in the Wahoo KICKR in 2018, I can train to specific power targets in the safety of my garage, I can race online, I can join group training and workout sessions with friends from around the world. Physically distancing, but not being socially distant.

What are my current plans for 2020?

Well, they were changing day by day a few weeks back, now things seem to have settled down somewhat and on paper, I have no races until September. So right now, my next race will be Ironman Wales, followed by the rescheduled Boston Marathon 8 days later with the Chicago Marathon 27 days after Boston and then the rescheduled Ironman 70.3 Mallorca 20 days later.

Two marathons, one Ironman 70.3 and one Ironman in an 8 week period. Whether any of those go ahead remains to be seen. I do not feel confident of the September races going ahead or if Boston did happen, would travel restrictions into the US prevent international runners from gaining entry?

Who knows, but for now I am enjoying running and cycling with no goal in mind. 1st June I will start 15 weeks of training for the Boston Marathon and see where that journey takes me.

Stay safe everyone!!!