Goals are important, but the process to achievement is important-er

Lots of people make goals. The New Year is a particularly popular time for new goals, but we make goals throughout the year, especially in the running world. Many people set goals to run a certain distance for the first time, or to get a new fastest time at their favorite distance. Some people just set their goal and then hope to achieve it without really putting a plan into place. Sure, anyone can say “I’m going to run a half marathon this year” but if they don’t make a plan to help them achieve that goal, it probably won’t happen.

Making your goal is only the first step of many to seeing it through. Once you have made your goal, you should make a plan for how to achieve it. This plan is the most important factor in the success of your goal. Start with where you are now, and think about what exactly you need to do in order to accomplish your goal. If you are currently running 5ks and would like to run a half marathon, you need to make a plan to slowly increase your mileage week by week until you are ready to run 13 miles. If your goal is to run a personal best at your favorite race distance, you need to make a plan for speedwork and hill sprints. Set smaller goals along the way that lead to your bigger goal in order to help you stay focused.

If your end-goal involves participating in a race, remember that there are lots of factors at play outside of the training that you put towards your goal. You may have trained to run a personal best, all your training went perfectly, you are sure you are ready, and then the weather is absolutely miserable and it slows you down, preventing you from reaching your goal. Yes, this is incredibly disappointing, but it doesn’t mean your goal is lost. If the training was there, you know you were capable of the goal even though it didn’t come to fruition. You can recover and try again at another race. It is important not to give up on a goal or see it as a failure if you don’t achieve it on the first try due to factors beyond your control. Of course you can and should take the time to be disappointed, but don’t let the disappointment consume you and prevent you from trying again another day.

Do you have a big running goal you hope to accomplish this year, but you aren’t sure how to implement your plan for achievement? Let’s chat!