Break Down Your Goals:
Tackling a big goal can sometimes feel like you are staring up at Mount Everest and wondering, “How on earth am I going to climb that?” Break down your goals into smaller, bite-sized pieces (chuck it) you will then find you are not paralysed by the enormity of your ambitions. You will avoid feeling overwhelmed and will find tracking your progress comes with ease.
Breaking Down Goals Works
Breaking down goals is like slicing a giant pizza into manageable pieces— which is a lot more satisfying and not so intimidating. A daunting task is now transformed into a series of achievable steps for you. This will make your journey to success more manageable and enjoyable.
How Can You Break Down Your Goals:
Define Your Ultimate Goal:
What is your main goal? For instance your ultimate goal is to run a marathon. This is your Everest, but this is where we are going to turn it into a series of manageable smaller climbs.
Example: “I want to complete a marathon in 9 months.”
Set Milestones:
What are the major milestones? Think of these as base camps on your climb. For instance, your milestones could include running a park-run, a 5k road race, a 10k and a half-marathon.
Example:
- Month 1: You will run a park-run
- Month 2: You will find a road 5k and race it
- Month 3: You will complete a 10K road or trial
- Month 5: Finally you will finish a half-marathon.
Establish Weekly and Daily Tasks:
You need to create weekly and daily tasks that lead to your milestones. This helps keep you on track and ensures steady progress. If your goal is to run a marathon, daily tasks might include weekly strength and conditioning, pilates and cross-training activities like swimming and biking.
Example:
- Week 1: You will run 3 times a week, including a 3-mile run.
- Week 2: You will increase your long run to 5 miles.
- Daily Task: You will stretch and hydrate.
Use a Training Plan:
A structured training plan that outlines the steps needed to reach your milestones will need to be put in place. This can be fun to pull together and also very motivational. Plans usually include a mix of long runs, speed work (intervals, tempos), easy runs and rest days or cross-training.
Example: Follow a 16-week marathon training plan with specific details like:
- Monday: 4 mile Interval Session
- Tuesday: Rest
- Wednesday: 5-mile tempo run.
- Thursday: 4 mile easy run
- Friday: Strength & Conditioning
- Saturday: Long run (starting from 8 miles and increasing weekly).
- Monitor and Adjust: Be flexible, check your progress and most importantly listen to your body. If something is not working, change it. You might need more recovery time, everybody is different.
Example: If you’re struggling with your long runs, consider adjusting your pace. You should be increasing your weekly mileage gradually to build endurance. Slowly, slowly do not just jump in at high mileage.
Celebrate Small Wins:
It is really important that when you hit a milestone, you treat yourself. This will keep you motivated and makes the journey so much more enjoyable.
Example: After completing a 10K race, treat yourself to a new piece of running gear.
Reflect and Iterate:
When you have reached a milestone this is a time to reflect. This is your lessons learnt time what worked well and what didn’t. Use this insight to adjust your next steps and improve your approach.
Example: Your training went really well for your 5k but took on a different turn for your 10K. You found your training for the 10k incredibly tough. This is the time you analyse your training and recovery strategies and make improvements.
Breaking down your goals will make your journey towards running a marathon more achievable and less intimidating. You have transformed an overwhelming challenge into a series of manageable tasks. By defining your ultimate goal, setting milestones, creating weekly and daily tasks, using a structured plan, monitoring progress, celebrating small wins, and reflecting on your approach, you have set yourself up for success.
A towering Everest is not in front of you now. You are climbing a series of well-marked trails. So, get ready to lace up your running shoes, tackle those steps, and celebrate every small victory along the way!
