Since I started running, I have found that the main thing that keeps me getting up and out the door at the God awful early hour of 5:00 am is the goals I have set for myself. It is always easy to be motivated to run when you have a marathon or half marathon on your calendar. The distance can not be taken lightly. So, you tend to be focused and get your work outs in no matter what. But, it made me look back on my past goals and how I set them.
I have found throughout my life that any goal worth attaining needs to be mapped out ahead of time. This means looking at the how, why, when and where aspects of the goal. In some cases, you also need to look at the goal from a time perspective to ensure that you have the time to meet the objective. This is especially true when it comes to the longer distance races. Finally, you need to be realistic in setting your goal. You cannot lift yourself off the “couch of doom” (thanks Steve Runner) and expect to go out and run a marathon in six weeks.
There are several things I do at the beginning of each year to help me meet my running goals. I look over the calendar and decide what big running event I am planning to participate in and add it to my calendar. This year is was the Boston Marathon and a secondary goal of participating in the Reach the Beach Relay. Once I have my races set, I then proceed to mapping out my plan for the year.
First, I look back at my past training logs to see what workouts seemed to fit my work and personal life schedules. Then I remind myself that everything in the past has shown me that to obtain these goals takes a long time and a lot of work and dedication. Regardless, I put my workouts on my calendar working backward from the race date to the latest date I can start training and be ready to race. The act of writing them into my calendar makes them real and important.
Next I decide where I am going to do each of my workouts. I write in whether or not it will be on the road outdoors or on a treadmill. In addition, I note which days I will double up my core workouts with my run. Because of the severe weather changes here in New England, I make sure I have contingency plans for really foul weather. It may mean running on the indoor track at the YMCA instead of outdoors if the weather is too bad. In any case, I make sure there is no excuse for missing a run.
Finally, I tell myself that no matter what, I will stick to my plan. It is inevitable that things will come up and interfere with my plan. So as I said, I plan for events to happen that will derail me. I also know that missing one workout during the course of a long training plan will not affect the ultimate results. And, I never double up workouts to make sure I have logged every mile the plan calls for. That can only lead to injury.
I was in a business training class some years ago and they used the acronym S.M.A.R.T. to help us set our goals. This is a simple way to remember the methods I outlined above. I use this method as part of my planning. S.M.A.R.T. stands for:
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Realistic
T – Timetable
So when you sit down to plan your running goals for the year or for a specific race, try using the methods I have outlined and I am sure you will find that it helps you not only meet your goals but exceed them.
Here are my training totals:
Aug. 2 – 10.10 miles (1:29:062, 8:49 pace)
Aug. 3 – 6.00 miles (49:48, 8:18 pace)
Aug. 4 – 3.60 miles (27:55, 7:46 pace) – 5K Speedwork w/½ mi warm up
Aug. 6 – 7.10 miles (57:47, 8:08 pace) – Tempo
Aug. 7 – 6.20 miles (54:05, 8:43 pace)
Aug. 8 – 10.10 miles (1:25:19, 8:26 pace)
Total Miles: 43.10 miles
2009 YTD Miles: 1,274.20 miles
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