Let Your Run Dreams Take Flight in 2022!
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Happy New Year!
For many of us, this rollover from one year to the next is an opportunity to reflect on the past year and set new personal running goals for the upcoming year. But goal setting can be tricky. Here are my tips to maximize your success in 2022:
Set realistic, achievable goals.
Create less tangible goals along with objective, measurable ones.
Secure accountability.
Set Realistic, Achievable Goals
The corporate sector uses the phrase big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) when referring to a nearly impossible or daunting dream, like landing on the moon. These big hairy goals also exist in the running world, and I will refer to them as BHARG's (big hairy audacious run goals). For some, a BHARG is to qualify for the Olympic trials or the Boston Marathon. Most often, BHARG's involve running a new distance or a personal record time.
Unless you are close to achieving your BHARG (and be honest about that), leave it off your New Year's Running Resolution list. Instead, break that goal into multiple, small achievable chunks that you can achieve realistically within a year or training season. Not sure how to do that? A coach can help! A qualified coach not only assigns workouts; they assess your current fitness level, help you create goals, and set benchmarks.
Create less tangible goals along with objective, measurable ones.
Success with running isn't just about your BHARG. It includes managing sleep, work, family, stress, diet, and recovery—more on recovery in upcoming blog articles. Below are some examples of run goals that are subjective.
Run happier.
Run healthy without injury.
Run with others.
Run for charity.
You can add objective measures to these goals if desired. For example, you could modify "Run with others." to "Run with others once per week." Not surprisingly, these subjective goals are typically instrumental in achieving a BHARG.
Secure Accountability.
We can all use a helping hand to hold us accountable for our goals and commitments. Sometimes, this is a co-worker, coach, teacher, spouse, partner, or friend.
Running or training with others provides instant accountability. Maybe this is a neighbor that runs with you before the crack of dawn.
Whether you like to run alongside others or solo, an organized running group provides camaraderie, aid stations, and varied courses to help you keep accountable for longer distance runs. Throw a personalized running coach into the mix, and you've got accountability from all angles.
“As you pursue your running hopes and dreams in 2022, I wish you much success and that the journey itself is bodacious! ”