Starting Over On a Goal

Did you set goals for 2016? How are you doing on them?

We are about 5 weeks into 2016, so it should be evident by now if we are making progress on our goals or not.

I set a few goals for the year, however I have arranged them so I would only be working on a few of them at a time. I didn’t want to feel like I had to achieve them all at the same time.

One goal I set for myself was to participate in several distance races this year. The first one I planned to do was a 1/2 marathon the first weekend in March.

When I decided to do this particular race, I knew that it would take a lot of hard work and training, however I also knew it was attainable for me because I successfully completed two other 1/2 marathons in the past 1 1/2 years.

 

Well, as time approached to begin training for the 1/2 marathon in March, I realized that fitting in time to train was going to be a challenge. I usually try to go walk/run in the mornings after the kids have gone to school. With my part time job and new schedule I’ve tried to implement for writing, I discovered that time of day would not work for me any more. I really needed to try to train in the afternoons, but after a full day of work and doing other things around the house usually drains my energy. I certainly don’t want to drag myself to the gym to get on the treadmill. And, cold weather coupled with early darkness is not my ideal environment for training.

As one week passed, then another without being able to get a lot of workouts in, it became clear that participating in the 1/2 marathon was not going to be realistic. So, I adjusted my thought process and decided to train for the 10k that is a part of the same weekend as the 1/2 marathon. I thought surely I could train for 6.2 miles.

I was sadly mistaken. When you have a hard time fitting in training, it doesn’t matter what distance you are training for. So, I’ve given up the thought of training for the moment. I feel like I need to start over on this goal of completing distance races.

How about you? Are there goals you’ve tried to work on but just can’t seem to get the momentum needed to see any progress?

I’ve thought about what I need to do to start over on my goal. I’ve come up with three steps to help see me through to success.

1) Decide if your goal is something you really need or want to complete.

Because I know I can complete 1/2 marathons with the proper training and I know that I need to exercise on a regular basis AND I know that I’m motivated by medals (bling!), I have decided this is something I still want to do.

I have the experience, though, of remembering how hard it is to train, how badly I messed up my feet, and how discouraging training can be at times. So I’m going to have to overcome those mental obstacles.

2) Determine how to make the goal more attainable.

We all know that a goal must be SMART-Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound. For me that means I need to figure out how many races I want to complete by the end of the year. I have to make sure that the races I choose are actually realistic for me to do. I can’t choose races that are one week after each other. I know I have to space them out over the year.

So, my first step is to check out races I want to participate in and make a list of those that will work for me. Then I can make a plan to begin training.

Also, I’ve got to find a way to fit training in to my schedule. If I can’t do that, then all of the other is pointless.

3) Find ways to set yourself up for success.

I mentioned above that I need to find a way to fit training in to my schedule. I have decided that since I can’t make it to the gym or get outside at the moment, I’m going to join a running group that meets locally every Spring. It’s called Women Run Arkansas (there may be a version of this in your state) and it provides the opportunity to train with other women at all different levels of fitness.

I’ll be joining the group where we will work up to intervals of running 5 minutes and walking 1 minute. We’ll repeat these intervals to complete a 5k at the end of the 10 week program.

I need the support and accountability of other women who are going through the same process. I participated in this group a couple of years ago and could not believe how quickly my endurance level and overall fitness improved over those 10 weeks.

My hope is that after finishing this program I will be motivated to continue training and will have finally figured out a way to fit training on my own in my schedule.

So, what goal do you need to start over? I hope you’ll give these three steps a try to get you back on track.

Leave a comment below and share your progress on your goals.