Two years ago, I remember a former friend asking me to go running with them and my response as I batted my eyelashes and twirled my freshly curled hair was “I am allergic to running”. I do not believe there is a single person on this earth who is in fact “allergic to running” however what I was really saying was I do not run, I do not like to run, I do not want to run… PERIOD! Fast forward to 2017 and I have officially completed my first week of 5k training and am heading into my second week. I will be running the Freihofer’s run in June (in Albany, NY) and I am both nervous and excited which is to be expected. All of this was and is about discipline and progress.
Many times, we sike ourselves out of a long-term goal because we fail to plan and set short term goals. A short-term goal is something you want to do near future. The near future can mean today, this week, this month or maybe even this year. A long-term goal is something you want to do in the future. Long-term goals require time and planning. When I was asked to go running I knew my body wasn’t conditioned for it. I felt if I started the run I would not hit the finish line and to be completely honest I did not want to sweat and ruin my hair. In anything you do fitness included you must set small attainable goals that will lead you to the finish line. I am running a 5K in June so one of my short-term goals is to commit to the conditioning process by running 3 times a week. At this moment, I am not able to run the 3 miles, so another short-term goal is to complete 1 ½ to 2 miles during each session (the first 4 weeks of training). If my goal is solely to run a 5k race I will not reach the finish line if I don’t first conquer those short-term goals (training, conditioning and discipline).
Write down your long-term goal then proceed to make a task list of short term goals to get you there!
For example: If your long-term goal is to lose 100 pounds break it down into smaller steps.
· I will loose 1-2 pounds a week.
· I will work out 2-3 times a week my first 4 months.
· I will limit my grain intake to 2 times a day.