Finding My Running Legs: Lessons Learned on Picking Goals

*Series in progress*  This entry is part of a series I’m writing leading up to my running (walking…but hopefully mostly running) my first 5K.  For more information on this series check out the introduction here or just continue on reading this entry.  I have also included links at the end to the other entries and to both the Terry Fox Foundation and my run fundraising page.

As I talked about in my last entry I am not a natural goal setter and I think one of the reasons that I never took to goal setting was because I never actually knew how to set goals that were realistic and achievable.  In today’s entry of Finding My Running Legs I’m going to talk about the process I have been using to make my goals.  I don’t know if it would work for everyone but in picking and setting my goals I have found that it has been incredibly helpful for me.  My ideas on goal setting are not new or probably all that innovative they are simply what I have found leaves me feeling the most positive about what I am doing.

The first principle I applied was the idea of picking a goal and setting a time frame on it.  I am one of those people with lots of big ideas but I don’t usually apply them to anything.  This time I took that idea and changed it into my goal – to run a 5K – but at first I still didn’t have a timeframe on it.  Running a 5K is something that I have always wanted to do but obviously without a timeframe I hadn’t managed to do it yet, even though I have talked about it off and on for the last few years.  So I went searching for 5Ks that I could run.  I settled on the Terry Fox Run for a couple reasons, one of which was that it was far enough in the future I figured I had lots of time to get ready.  This gave me something that I could happily call a goal because it had not only the idea of what I wanted to do but it had a date in which I would need to do it by.

This led me to my first true lesson about goals and that is while having a big goal is great it at least for me was not motivating in a tangible way.  After I wasted away the first month doing nothing to get ready for the run I quickly realized I needed something more that would actually get me doing something towards my big goal of the 5K.  So it only made sense to set some more goals.  So I basically made a to-do list of all the things I needed/wanted to do to get me from the couch to running.  I didn’t necessarily think of these things as goals at first but that is what they became.  I sat down and brainstormed all the things that would get me where I wanted.  I included the smallest of details including things like join a gym, go to the gym, and actually try running.  There were even a few that seemed a bit silly but they still go on the list things like buy a good pair of runners and figure out how to track my intervals.  Once I had my list of things than I gave myself deadlines because as a procrastinator it is easy to keep putting things off but with deadlines I was more aware of them.

The second lesson that I learned in setting these smaller goals or tasks was that this list had to be a little more flexible then my big goal, although even with my big goal I have tweaked it since I first set it.  As a perfectionist this was a struggle because once I put my mind onto something I really want to make sure I get it and do it 100%.  I keep reminding myself though that the reality is that I have never done anything like this before and so I didn’t really know what all the little tasks should be.  I learned that I needed to be able to not only add new tasks to the list but also change some of the deadlines I had already set for myself as I learned what I was capable of.  I quickly realized for example that my ability to move through the interval training was going to be slower than I had hoped.  In my head one week would be enough to transition my running up to the next level but the reality was my body was not that quick to be able to adjust and do it. This realization also ended up causing me to re-evaluate and modify my first goal of running a 5K to just being able to complete the 5k as quickly as I can while doing as much of it running as I can. 

So with a little trial and error I was able to come up with a list of things in my head that I knew would help get me where I wanted to go…crossing that finish line on the 14^th.  The best part is setting small goals is that working on them seems so much easier and less daunting than thinking about running a 5K.  I know this topic is probably not the most exciting but I hope that it helps.  I can honestly say that while having a big goal is important there is nothing wrong with breaking down into little mini goals that will help build towards that big goal but also remember to cut yourself some slack and allow for at least a little flexibility in those goals (as long as you are still actively working towards them…hehehe).

Tomorrow I will be writing about one of the things that I think is making the biggest difference not only on this goal to run a 5K but also in my ongoing journey to lose weight and become healthier…it is the idea of tracking. 

To donate and check out my progress please visit my page here.

For more information on the Terry Fox Foundation and the run check out their page here.

Finding My Running Legs Previous Entries

• Introduction
• Importance of Goals

Finding My Running Legs: Lessons Learned on the Importance of Goals

*Series in progress*  This entry is part of a series I’m writing leading up to my running (walking…but hopefully mostly running) my first 5K.  For more information on this series check out the introduction here or just continue on reading this entry.  I have also included links at the end to the other entries and to both the Terry Fox Foundation and my run fundraising page.

I don’t generally consider myself goal orientated.  I can already hear my friends telling me that I’m crazy and that I totally am but let me explain.  I have found generally in my life that I don’t really have to work to get the things I want.  I consider myself to be fairly lucky and things tend to just happen.  This is not by any means a bad thing but I do think it has made my lazy when it comes to really pushing myself for something that I really want.  In the past I have found that if it doesn’t come easily I’m more likely to shift my focus to something else than I am to really push towards whatever it is that isn’t coming easy.  This is not something that I am actively working on changing and after my work on getting prepared for the 5K I have to say I think I’m finally seeing the benefit to goals and actually working towards them once you set them.

Signing up for the Terry Fox Run and planning on trying to run it is one of the first real goals that I can remember setting for myself that I have actively worked towards achieving.  What has truly surprised me (it’s totally one of those duh moments) is that it is actually amazing and incredibly motivating to have a goal that you are working towards.  I thought that it would be a drag to have an extra responsibility to work on, something to steal my time away from things I enjoy more but I have to say I have proven myself wrong.  I love that I have something that is driving me to make changes that I have wanted to make for years but have never been dedicated enough to make.

One of the biggest positive things that has come out of having a specific goal is the motivation that has come with it.  When my alarm goes off at 4:30am each weekday morning and usually by 7 on weekends if it wasn’t for the pending 5K I would probably likely turn it off, roll over and go back to sleep.  Knowing however that I want to do this 5K and that I want to do my best at it has proven to usually be enough to get me out of bed.  Often I’m tired and cranky as I head to the gym but as soon as I get on the treadmill and start moving this feeling washes over me, a sense of purpose.  Along with this feeling of purpose I also am getting a sense of pride that comes with the fact I know that every step I do on the treadmill will make my 5K so much easier.  I feel like I’m working towards something (because I am) and I actually know what that something is because I have set the goal.

Having an end goal in mind and defined has also helped me to make better choices along the way.  Every day I bring a lunch to work full of healthy foods.  I almost always love my lunches but there is also a restaurant at work that makes really great food and yummy treats.  Before deciding to do the 5K it was a toss-up as to what would win for my afternoon snack - either my veggies or a sweet treat from Olly’s.  Now although I still treat myself some of the time I find now that before I grab my wallet I remind myself again how feeding my body better will help make that 5k a whole lot easier.  So now I’m am more likely to enjoy the treats I brought for myself rather than buy anything.  (The side benefit of this is it is also helping with my budget ;-)

I am determined to make this goal a reality and the drive that comes with that is thrilling.  It has given me purpose and motivation to help guide me.  I am converted wholeheartedly to the idea of goal setting now and have begun to apply the things I have learned setting goals around my run to other things in my life.  When you are willing to actually work towards a goal that you have set for yourself and are willing to put in a little effort it is amazing what can actually be achieved.  I guess the only question is how on earth to pick what goal you want to reach for….but more on that tomorrow.

To donate and check out my progress please visit my page here.

For more information on the Terry Fox Foundation and the run check out their page here.


Finding My Running Legs Previous Entries

• Introduction

Finding My Running Legs – Introduction

Planning to run my first 5K has been an incredibly eye opening experience for me.  It has taken up way more of my time then I expected which is one of the reasons my poor blog has gone ignored all summer.  I have found it to be challenging but in the best ways.  I am incredibly proud of myself for tackling this goal.  Nothing has ever made me feel better about myself.  My journey to try and become a runner is still far from being over but with the Terry Fox Run only two weeks away I figured it was a good time to focus a little on the things I have learned so far.

It has been a long time since I have been this excited about something, which is great but has caused me a few problems especially when it comes to being able to share it with people.  I mean I can talk for hours about it but all that excitement has made it a little tricky for me to actually be able to get blog posts written that are coherent and I’m happy with.  A lot of it is coming down to the fact that I have a lot to say, which is not unusual for me but doesn’t create the most organized of post for my blog.  My solution is to just write a bunch of small focused posts that I will post each day between now and the run.  So for the next 14 days I will share a new lesson that I have learned on this path to find my running legs.

With far too much doodling on scrap paper I have found a way to break up all the things I want to share into four categories to try and give it some semblance for order.  These four categories are goals, my body, my mind/spirit and the outcomes.  I suspect even as I write this intro and do some of the planning for the blog entries themselves that they will also probably overlap at least in some of the cases.  It is my hope that some of it may appeal or help others but mostly I just want to write it all down so I remember it and can get it out of my brain.  I also hope that maybe having something to focus on besides the run will help keep some of my nerves at bay as we get closer to the run.

I hope that all who read this series of posts can find something that inspires and teaches as much as running has taught me.  We should all be so lucky to have something to bring so much positivity and joy into our lives.

To donate and check out my progress please visit my page here.

For more information on the Terry Fox Foundation and the run check out their page here.