Friday, August 1, 2008

Getting Over The Hump Using Goals

Today's training run was a 5k (3.1 miles) that started and ended at my driveway. The goal this month is to run almost 128 miles - the most I will have ever run in a month! Mind you, I have run 80 and 90 miles respectively for the months of June and July, so the 128 mile for this month will be a challenge.


When I run, I find that the first .5 - 1 mile is the most difficult for me. After I have run for a mile, I am usually able to run for as long as I can. I only stop when I have reached my distance goal or when my heart rate gets within a few percentage points of my HRMax (178 BPM). Today was a bit of a challenge for me. My mind (the bad guy) and body teamed up this time and told me to quit after the first 1/4 mile. Well, the good guy in me said to keep running...so I kept running until I hit the 5k mark. I got over the hump.


One key trait a runner needs is the ability to push himself/herself when the body says "No more!" Pushing yourself can be dangerous, but I see a lot of people who will quit running after a mile or less when they could do so much more for themselves if they fought it off and kept running. Hey, I know it ain't easy. A big part of my motivation is reaching my goals. Every time I run I have either a distance goal or a pace goal or both.


Setting goals is almost like having my own personal training, at least that's the way I view it. I would encourage everyone to set small goals first and then, as you progress , gradually increase the expectations for your goals. I would have not believed I could run at a 8.65 minute/mile pace after only 4 months. However, that's what I did today. And, I got over that hump too!

1 comments:

Jazzid4 said...

Will, I think your blog is great and it's an inspiration to me. Hopefully, you'll add in some nutritional notes.

Template by - Abdul Munir | Daya Earth Blogger Template