Usually when I write, "you" means "me". Not today. You means YOU, little goal setter.
Goals are YOUR goals: Your dreams that you hope to someday reach. That someday could be next week. It could be in 10 years.
The most important part is that they are your goals.
When you're setting goals, keep a few things in mind:
1.) Let the dust settle. People get excited when they track their friends at races. If your friends or your spouse or your nemesis or your coach decides to do Ironman. (Ironman....just a place holder. I could easily say 'qualify for Boston' or "Nationals"). Big audacious goals are fantastic, but make sure you own it because you will be put to the test when you are least expecting it.
Don't sign up for a race just because everyone else is doing it. Don't do anything unless your heart is in it because it takes enormous dedication. More than you know.
If you jump on the bandwagon to do Ironman, you will regret it if you're not ready. Just because you're not ready, doesn't mean you're a weak person or don't aim high enough. You have to do what's right for YOU. Remember this, you might NEVER be ready. You might NEVER want to do Ironman. That's ok. Longer is NOT better. Longer is different.
Running a 5k is enough. You don't have to run a 50k to prove you're a runner.
2.) Be focused. You're going to have distractions. Many years ago, when I decided to focus on short and intermediate distances, I found that I had to explain my position to people. It was a time when everyone was doing Ironman. I guess, the thought of someone going short when they could go REALLY REALLY FAR was quite perplexing to many people.
I could have easily given up on my dream to get faster. I could have easily given up on trying to get to Nationals. I mean, hell, it took me YEARS to finally get there.
But I had a plan. My goals were my own. I wasn't going to go off the path. The people that really knew me, knew that I had big plans for myself. Nationals was just one of the steps. A step that I had to and wanted to take to do the next BIG thing.
Distractions aren't bad. They simply call into question why you're doing what you're doing. You need to be ready to answer the question.
3.) Choose wisely. It's not going to happen overnight.
If you want to qualify for Boston, you have to be 100% focused on JUST RUNNING. Sure, you can mix in some light cross training. If you're a triathlete....you best be ready to give up the swimming and biking in order to work 100% on your running goal. Likewise, you want to qualify for Nationals, you better be ready to give up those super long runs. Your long runs will probably not exceed 1:20-1:30.
It's going to be that way for awhile.
Now, back to my regularly scheduled not doing anything.