I remember my very first experience setting a goal. I was sitting in a classroom with my cross-country team, and it was the day before our first race of the season – and my very first cross country race ever. My coach handed everyone a piece of paper and told us all to write down one goal. I can't remember exactly what I wrote down, but I remember the feeling. I was nervous, contemplative, and ultimately unsure of the moment. I knew that writing my goal down meant I was subjecting myself to vulnerability. I was putting something on paper that someone else was going to see, and I was scared. What if I didn’t meet it? What would my coach think of me? What would I think of myself?
Photo credit: ChalkTalk Sports, Inc., RUN 365
I am thankful today that goal-setting became a pre-race tradition and I am especially thankful that I was subjected to setting goals at such a young age, where I was taught that vulnerability was OK, and that setting goals isn’t scary, but rather, not setting goals keeps us from moving forward in life and keeps us from reaching our true potential.
In the past week I have seen and read about how others around me are setting goals for the New Year and I find it so inspiring and motivating. After all, January is the perfect time to start fresh and build our race plan, especially as it gets harder and harder to step out for a run into the cold, dark weather that taunts us daily. I’ve learned over the years that each person has his/her own way of setting goals, and what works well for one person may not work well for everyone.
What I have discovered over the years is that I like to set lofty goals and within those goals have smaller sub-goals that I can achieve along the way. For example, I set the goal of wanting to qualify for the Olympic Trials back in 2013. At the time, with a marathon PR of 2:56, it seemed almost unrealistic. I knew that it was going to take a lot of time to get there, but it wasn’t until I started checking off my A, B and C sub-goals that my initial goal became more clear and formed into reality.
It’s also important to note that a goal does not have to be quantified. For example, I like to tell people I know who are interested in a running their first race this year that they don’t have to make their goal time based, but rather, something more simple like finishing the race, or finishing the race without injury. Achieving a goal should make you feel proud and ready to set the next one, and likewise, not achieving a goal shouldn’t leave you feeling down and demotivated. This is where having multiple goals is important, as well as being willing to change your goals in the last minute if things aren’t going as planned.
As I look back over 2017 and think about where I started and where I ended, I know that if I had not set goals, I would not have qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials. That being said, I’m ready to jump on the trails again and get back to training so I can build an even stronger base and begin to prepare my body for what’s to come in the next two years. Good luck with your goals and happy training!
2018 Running Goals:
First place in the Portland Shamrock Run 15K
Top 5 in the Tenacious 10
Sub 1:18 half marathon
Sub 4:50 mile on the track (or sub 4:30 1500)
Health/Fitness Goals:
Yoga at least 2X/week
Strength and conditioning 2X/week
Stretch/foam roll 10 minutes/day