How to Break Down Your Goals
Yesterday morning I went for a 3km run, this morning my legs are aching but I’m doing the maths as to how I can work towards a new goal that I’ve set myself for 2024— run 10km.
I used to be that person that would decide on a goal and attempt it the very next day. Going from a 3km to a 10km run within the space of a week. Likely to hurt my body, feel an exuberant amount of pain, struggle to the end stubbornly resolved to do it even if I wasn’t ready. Whether I achieved it or not (likely not at this age and fitness level) I would have been able to say I did it and never do it again.
But this goal isn’t about clocking the 10km, it’s about building an exercise routine that sticks. It’s been a tough year with many highs and lows. One thing I’m most proud of is my slow but steady reestablishment of a workout routine.
I joined a gym to hold my self accountable (knowing the fortnightly fee would be direct debited from my account) told myself to just get there at least once a week (I ended up going sometimes 3 x a week) and if nothing else just do 15 mins. I’d say that I averaged a 30mins work out each time. There hasn’t been any major body transformations (also a result of getting old) but yesterday when I got up to run there was no resistance in my mind. On return, I realised that I had succeeded in making exercise a go-to option for my morning routine, something that I do for my mental health each morning.
Now that I’m through the hardest part, for me it was making time to exercise in my day, I’m ready to take it up a notch. Rather than going out to run 10km this morning, I’m making an incremental plan to achieve my goal by September 2024.
Here’s how I’m doing it:
1. Start with the end goal— Sydney typically has a 10km race in September, I did a half marathon many many years ago and I know that community fun runs have an energy on the day carries you through at least half of the race, plus it’s a date I can work backwards from. It also feels far enough away that I can plan for it but not too close that it feels impossible. Thanks for the hot tip and reminder of how powerful setting a specific date is, my friend Dr Marion Piper (also a boss runner worth following for workout inspo).
2. Break it down into achievable steps—research shows that when we set a goal too high, too soon and we attempt that goal before we have the necessary resources, skills and ability to give ourselves the best chance at coming close to it and we don’t achieve (or come close to achieving) it, we are less likely to reattempt. The challenge level needs to be just right for us and us alone. Some people might be ready to go straight for the 10km but I’m not there yet, so I’m going to break it down over the next 9 months. I’ve got 7km to add to my current 3km so each month I’ll be adding 1km to my running distance which currently takes me about 6.5 mins to run. Adding 6.5mins (hopefully gets faster but not the point) to my workout each month feels achievable both mentally and physically. Here’s my proposed schedule, the other good thing about it is that I have milestones that I can celebrate along the way to keep me motivated and check if I’m on track;
Jan - 3km
Feb - 4km
March - 5km
April - 6km
May - 7km
June- 8km
July- 9km
Aug- 10km
September - race day
3. Gather your resources—like any goal, you’ll likely need some additional resources beyond your plan, mindset and end goal. It’s where we fill in the middle part of working towards it. By planning the ‘action’ part and removing as much resistance as possible in advance, you’re more likely to ‘just start’ and do the work that needs to be done in order to close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. I’ve made a list of all the things that are I’ll need in order to run then race e.g register online with payment (so that there’s a physical commitment); add the event to my diary so that I don’t plan anything that will get in the way of it (another form of really committing to yourself knowing that the year will get busy); run shoes (I have some pretty good ones right now but might aim to get a professional opinion on a good shoe for the distance so I don’t hurt my hip like last time I ran long distances); a gym schedule (Monday, Wednesday & Friday morning 6:00am-6:30am); and outdoor run routes (I realised running outdoors is much harder on your body than the treadmill so as the distance gets longer I’m going to find an inspiring outdoor route near my house that I can get out and do to change it up and train my body for the terrain).
Side Note: I’ve been thinking about whether I should tell some friends to join me on this journey and decided that was a bit of a cop out (for me, maybe not the case for you). Running is a solo sport which I love but so are most of our goals. It’s nice to go into business with someone else or want to share a goal with a friend or partner but it can also be a form of self sabotage. We outsource our motivation to the other person, so we can blame our progress on their commitment to the goal. If they bail on a run meetup, get an injury or lose interest in the goal, you could go down with them. Stay your own course, set your own goals for yourself and get clear about WHY you’re doing it, then if others want to join you on the ride they can but you won’t risk being deterred if they don’t follow through.
Ok your turn:
Pick a goal—set a date, time, event you’d like to achieve it by - add it to your diary, write it on your wall, register or tell someone or thousands of people like I am with this email—now I have to do this!
Break it down—working backwards, how much time do you have till your end date? What steps need to be taken in that timeframe? What are the achievable increments that you can tick off at each milestone to track your progress?
What do you need?—who and what resources do you need to gather to break down any resistance that might get in the way of you taking the necessary action? It could be a coach to teach you what you don’t know, equipment to make it possible, time in the diary etc.
Now get on your way! Can’t wait to hear what goals you set and how it goes, keep me posted.
K x
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