Do you have running goals? You should, they are important and act as a road map to your success. In his book, “Meb For Mortals”, he believes there are three things that determine your success as a runner: good goals, hard work, and commitment.
Here are some qualities of good goals:
- It Should Have Personal Meaning – The goal should be something you want to achieve for yourself, not to meet someone else’s expectations. Just because you are a runner it does not mean you have to set a goal that is popular, such as running a marathon. The goal should represent you, it should not be about anyone else. When training gets tough, it will be difficult to persevere if you are not intrinsically motivated.
- It Should Be Specific – Make sure your goal is clearly defined. For example, stating that you want to run more is not as specific as stating that you want to run five times a week.
- It Should Be Challenging Yet Realistic – Goals should require you to reach outside of your comfort zone yet be attainable. Not everyone can qualify for Boston or run a sub 6 minute mile. Goals should require work to achieve them, but they should not be out of reach. Although it is important to dream big, we need to be realistic.
- It Should Be Measurable – When setting a goal, it should answer the question, how much or how many, and also have a deadline. A great example of a measurable time goal is running a sub 30 minute 5k. Deadlines help prevent boredom and will help keep you motivated.
As you progress as a runner, so will your goals. My first marathon goal was to run a sub 4 hour marathon and in 2012, I ran 3:47 in the Marine Corps Marathon. In 2013 I targeted the Boston Qualifying time and ran a 3:15 in a local marathon. This spring I have a challenging goal of running sub 3 at Boston and then running in the Age Group World Championships at the London Marathon 6 days later.
Setting goals and running requires a bit of risk. Sometimes you are asking your body to do something it has never done before and that can be scary. Sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith and jump in with both feet!
“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal written down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.”
Greg S. Reid