Small goals

 

Stepping stones... small goals... good analogy, no?

There are too many variables that affect your ability to attain your goal. That’s a lot of time and energy to manage unforeseen events. Small goals are like hand-to-hand combat or short, manageable steps that get you to your goal. A series of short, easier goals is equal to one, large, “impossible” goal. By succeeding in numerous smaller goals, you are likely to increase your energy, motivation and self-confidence.




Publishing this blog is a BIG THING goal (at least for me) comprised of several small goals. I could never have written this book were it not for breaking it up into small, manageable pieces that I could easily digest. Notwithstanding that all of it is in my head, when sat down the first time to hammer out a small book from A to Z, I was immediately daunted, disconcerted, discouraged and disenchanted. I was intimidated by the thought of swallowing a whale in one sitting. I couldn’t do it!

It was just too much until I remembered my own philosophy of small goals. By consuming the whale pieces at a time, over time, I would swallow that sucker yet! And if you are reading this right now, you know I did.

In marathoning, the small, measurable goals are just as obvious. The long runs of 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 miles are certainly significant benchmarks. Completing any one of these small goals is an achievement in itself.

Think of it. Have you ever run 12 miles? Can you imagine it? It is a small goal on the way to your larger goal. You’re gonna do it on the way to marathon glory!

Other small, measurable goals of marathon success include finishing a 5K, 10K, 10-miler, and half-marathon. Competing in these races demonstrate your success by merely finishing. They are also great indicators of how fast you run and how well you perform under race conditions.

Drawing again on the “I want to be a doctor” paradigm, one can measure success by getting into college, get the necessary grades, getting into medical school, and getting into an internship. Sure, these are obvious benchmarks, and an aspiring doctor can modify appropriate, personal small goals, but it is important to understand that often there are obvious indicators of our success that are occasionally, or routinely, dismissed as incidental. They are, however, your best report card on your progress.

Think also of a football team. A football team wants the touchdown. It is literally their goal. But they don’t normally go for it each play. Usually – and I’m not coach – they seek small goals. Several first downs to get them closer. Each play is not intended to gain 100 yards and score a touchdown; rather, they are more designed for short yardage.

Form follows function

It seems a funny thing to discuss form in the context of running. Is there such a thing? Humans have been running ever since they became bipedal and when Adam realized Eve was naked. Running is a natural capability that we all share - some faster or more goofy than others, but nonetheless equally endowed with the same propensity to locomote.

Me... on a good day.

Yet, in my experience, I have discovered that there is such a thing as good form, which is important to maximize efficiency and comfort. The more efficiently and comfortably you run, the more likely you will enjoy running. And if you enjoy something, what other motivation do you need to strive for your Big Thing goals?

A runner who lumbers along leaning forward, with hands and arms awkwardly flailing is an inefficient runner. Running inefficiently will lead to quick fatigue, possible injury and certainly an uncomfortable experience. And these symptoms will ruin your motivation to run. All that from bad form? Yeah.

Also, it is my experience that I really don't feel in the groove until about mile 3. My starts are sometimes a little awkward and my pace can be erratic. After about 20+ minutes of jogging - or 3 miles - I am sufficiently warmed up to settle into a good, comfortable stride.

Admittedly, I have just revealed that I do not warm up prior to hitting the streets. Running gods like Jeff Galloway and Hal Higdon would cast down their dour frowns from Olympus and chastise me for disrespecting the sport. True. You should warm up. I don't. I'm not going to preach it to you because (a) I'm no preacher, and (b) it would be hypocritical. If you have time and interest in such things, smarter people than me advise you to warm up before jogging.

Once you've settled into a comfortable stride, I believe you will naturally assume "proper form". Here again, I follow my own running religion when it comes to defining proper form. I have followed techniques described by Greta Waltz and Jeff Galloway but always fall back into my own unique form.

If you’re like me, it will take some time to find it. And on some days, when your muscles are not quite feeling it, or if you’ve missed a few days of running, or sometimes for some inexplicable reason, your body will follow a form of its own.
I prefer long runs over the shorter ones because after 2 to 3 miles I settle into a good stride, which makes the rest of the run more managable and even comfortable. Sure, the longer you run the more pounding your body will endure, so, yeah, you'll eventually feel discomfort. But if you're form is good and your stride is relaxed, you will run more efficiently and comfortably, getting you closer to your small goals (long runs x, y and z) and the Big Thing goal (marathon!).


The best way, in my opinion and experience, to develop and maintain good form is to exercise regularly. Muscles that sit on the couch for days then are called into action are not in peak condition. On the other hand, muscles that regularly feel the burn stand ready to be called into service.

When you do eventually get off your tuckus and hit the road, here are some tips to remember:

TIP 1: Keep hands about waist level, even brushing lightly against your hip. Holding hands high creates tension – not to mention it looks goofy – and it tires you out more quickly.

TIP 2: Keep your body erect, with head up, back straight and shoulders level. Try to envision what famed running guru Jeff Galloway calls the marionette. There’s no point in describing it. You know what a marionette looks like. Just picture it. And please don’t confuse a marionette with a ventriloquist dummy.

TIP 3: Heads up! Keep your head up by looking ahead. I will even look up into the trees and sky. You’d be surprised how well adapted your brain is at keeping you running straight and avoiding obstacles when you look up above. Watching the ground in front of you will cause your head to tilt, which will cause you to lean forward. Leaning forward will cause stress on your back and knees. Also, it requires more energy to support a body that looks like it is chasing a rolling quarter. So, heads up!

Runner's World devotes a whole page to Running Form. Read a few entries so you get a grander picture of the importance of good running form. Then decide for yourself what works best for you.

Marathon = The BIG THING

The marathon is your goal and it is not as hard as one would think.  In fact, like life, it is not as hard as you make it to be.  Sure there is a long distance, you get tired, and sore.  Sometimes you ask yourself why you do it.  That’s a marathon.  Just like life.  So there is no reason why anyone should not do it.

Running a marathon, or setting an “unattainable” goal is something that everyone should do.  Marathons used to be considered prohibitive, meaning that they were too hard for the average person, and that such races should be exclusive only to the elite.  Well, in the beginning, that may have had some merit.  Most folks were not running, let alone running distances beyond their mailboxes.  A marathon was one of those untouchable things.  It just wasn’t something most people did.  So, as a result, only the elite folks ran them.  Now thousands of people run marathons, ultra-marathons, and other long distances each year. The secret got out that the marathon – though a hard race – is not impossible. Like climbing Mount Everest, it used to be a monumental task but is now pedestrian.   

The lesson?  Anybody can run a marathon. And anybody can do anything they set their minds to.

Wow, that was a logical leap to a conclusion!  Well, not really.  In life, things only appear hard.  Humans build barriers in their minds based on no logic whatsoever.  Marathons, for instance, were long distance races only Olympians could run.  The distance was too far to survive.  The training was impossible. 

And that is why I have drawn upon the marathon as my metaphor for dreaming all of life’s big dreams, shrinking them down to your size, breaking them up to bite-size bits, and consuming them like you would vitamins.

In fact, throughout this book, every time you see the word marathon, you may substitute it with life or life’s goals.  There are so many unlimited opportunities on our planet.  There are zillions of dreams that are not realized b/c people place unnecessary obstacles in front of themselves before they even get started on their dreaming or realizing their dreams.  This means that folks start by saying, “Wow, I wish I could do that,” or “One day I’d like to be able to do that,” or “That’s always been a dream of mine.”  However, they do nothing to make those statements – those statements from the heart – come true. 

Do you realize that when you say things like that you truly are speaking from the heart?  These kinds of ideas and dreams are the things that quicken your blood, send you day dreaming, make you feel good, yet you likely do nothing to make that dream become a reality.  Ask yourself, why is that?  Why do I stand in my own way?  Beats the hell out of me.  People just do it.  They say things like, “Yeah, I’d like to do it, but….”  “That would be great, but….  Too many buts. 

William Shakespeare once wrote, “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we often might win by fearing to attempt.”

You can realize your dreams.  They are yours for dreaming and they’re yours for coming true.  Your goal is to dream big, understand why it is important to you, map out a way to get it done, and do it.

Personally, I think if you will indulge in this one exercise to run a marathon, you will see what I mean.  And most importantly, it will change your life forever.  After you read this book, I hope you are just around the corner from completing your first marathon.  I want this book to motivate you to run your first marathon, and more importantly, I want you to run that marathon and finish.  When you do, you will understand the steps outlined in this book.  You will understand the reward of dreaming, planning, and doing.

By running just one marathon, you will absolutely change your life.