My 2011 Race Schedule

This is what my 2011 Race Schedule looks like along with my targets for the races.

23/01/11 - Benfleet 15 - PB - 2:06:41
06/02/11 - Great Bentley HM - PB - 1:35:04
12/02/11 - Middlesbrough Parkrun 5k - PB - 19:42
06/03/11 - Silverstone HM - Not intending to race.
13/03/11 - Norwich HM - Hoping to PB sub 1:35
08/05/11 - Stratford Marathon - Hoping to PB would like sub 3 hr 30.
30/05/11 - BUPA 10K - Running with Lauren aiming for sub 1 hour.
12/06/11 - Southend HM - Looking for sub 1:40
10/07/11 - British 10K - Target of sub 42min.
16/07/11 - 28/07/11 - LEJOG 1000 miles by bike.
11/09/11 - Bristol HM - Want a PB and ideally sub 1:30.
18/09/11 - Great North Run - Would like to beat last years time of 1:40.
09/10/11 - Chester Marathon - Very dependant on how Stratford goes. But want to PB again.
November and December - Another go at PBing over 5K.

So as you can see plenty to keep me training. After 3 PB's over 3 different distances in the first 6 weeks of 2011 I am feeling confident for the rest of my year. I booked and paid for Silverstone before the snowed off Norwich HM was rescheduled and with Lauren away that weekend I think I think I'll skip Silverstone and concentrate on Norwich and I am aiming for a small improvement on my Great Bentley PB. I believe the Norwich course is slightly more undulating than Great Bentley and with only 5 weeks between them a PB might not be on.

Stratford Marathon comes shortly after a two week holiday in South Africa for a friends wedding and with a stag do in March my training in the build up to the marathon looks to be disrupted. But I am still confident of much better preparation than I have had for my previous two marathons and so as a minimum want a PB but my stretch target is for a sub 3hr 30min run.

At the end of May I will be running with Lauren for her first 10K and she has me under instructions to get her round in less than an hour. This is followed shortly afterwards by the Southend HM where I have had two pretty unpleasant experiences. It's the flatest marathon that I run but has been very hot both years and that was definately my undoing last year, so at present I am not targeting a PB but beating last years 1:45 perhaps a 1:40 would be my aim.

In early July I get to tackle the other big London 10K, this is a notoriously busy and poorly organised 10K, but I hope to start fairly near the front and run unimpeded on my way to a big 10K ideally sub 42mins. I feel this is feasible particuarly after this weekends sub 20min 5K.

LEJOG though is the main focus of July, 1000 miles in 13 days. With completion being my only goal. Hopefully in as little discomfort as possible with as little bike maintenance as possible.

I am yet to book and pay for Bristol HM with entries not yet open. But I will enter having had two PB's and two successful races there. September is a long way off but I hope to be in shape to attack the 1:30 mark in earnest at Bristol.

I ran the Great North Run last year two weeks after Bristol and made it round in 1:40. This year there is just 1 week between the two races. So perhaps a course record is overly ambitious but that will be my aim.

The final race I have booked is the Chester Marathon in early October. This is 8 months away and so predictions require some imagination. But I would again hope to PB at Chester.

November and December are free and I may well spend these asleep recovering from my 11 races and LEJOG but I think what is more likely is another Parkrun or two with the aim of rounding off the running year with a 5K PB or two. I'm exhausted just blogging about it! :-)