My racing goals for 2011?

Since August I’ve been hampered by swelling and pain at the bottom of my left Achilles tendon. I’ve seen two physicians and a physical therapist and done a bunch of stretching and strengthening exercises, and I’ve seen improvement in my flexibility around the ankle joint and ability to run pain-free. Yet the world of serious competitive running remains distant. I haven’t tried to run faster than seven-minute pace, or farther than eight miles, in four months. And every time I extrapolate from a good week to possible participation in a winter or spring race, a setback soon torpedoes those ideas.

So when people ask me what’s on my 2011 racing calendar, I say, “Nothing,” and I mean it. I will continue running to the extent possible, but I’m not going to pick a race until my training resembles its pre-injury state. And that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.