Five Tips for Achieving Your Running Goal

Be purposeful.

In life as in running, you won’t get very far if you don’t set goals. That’s why it’s important that you don’t simply run aimlessly every time you strap on the running shoes; instead, you should energize yourself with goals that give you direction and passion. Here are five tips for achieving your running goal.

1. Make your goal definite.

You won’t get very far if you say “I want to run faster,” because anyone can run faster simply by speeding up. If you want to achieve your goal, you’ll have to know exactly what it takes to achieve it. This means setting a definite goal with real dates and numbers, such as “I want to run four miles in less than forty minutes.” Knowing what your goal is makes it real to you, and once you achieve it, you’ll know a milestone has been crossed.

2. Make your goal singular.

You’ll notice that the title of this article is “Five Tips for Achieving Your Running Goal,” not “Running Goals.” That’s intentional. Making your goal singular increases your ability to focus, which makes everything else that much easier. When you’re working on a definite, singular goal, you can summon energy from different places and use it to work for you, rather than spreading that energy out amongst several goals.

3. Decide on a plan for achieving your goal.

Ask yourself, “how much work will it take for me to achieve this goal?” Write down your thoughts on a piece of paper. Then, using that answer, start to draw up a plan for achieving your goal. For example, if you’re working on a speed goal, you’ll want to include regular “speed training” sessions for your running, such as once or twice a week. If you’re going for distance, you’ll want to incrementally increase your distance over time.

4. Decide on the rewards you can enjoy when you achieve your goal.

If you’ve been on a strict diet, tell yourself that after you achieve your goal, you’ll reward yourself with a pizza from your favorite restaurant, or your favorite flavor of milkshake. If you’ve been worn out from all the running, reward yourself with a few days of extra rest.

5. Persistence wins the day.

None of these tips will work without the crucial ingredient of success: persistence. If all of the other tips have been ingredients in your pizza recipe, persistence is the heat that finally cooks it. Stay on track, even when things seem hopeless. You may just end up surprising yourself.

Photo Credits: mysza831

Originally posted 2009-09-04 03:16:14.

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