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Chapter 2

SETTING GOALS AND PRIORITIES

By focusing on a few key elements, you have the opportunity to take control over the enjoyment of the running experience. If you’re preparing for your first 21K race, I recommend that you choose the “to finish” schedule, and run slower on every run than you could run on that day. Even after the 20th or 100th race, you’re more likely to remember the details of your first one. Your mission, therefore, should be to weave the training runs, and the race itself, into a positive tapestry of memories that will enrich the rest of your life.

TOP 3 GOALS FOR FIRST TIME HALF MARATHON RUNNERS

1. Finish in the upright position,

2. with a smile on your face, and

3. wanting to do it again.

These three components define the first level of success in any training program, and the degree of enjoyment of each long run. If this is your first race experience at the 13.1 distance, visualize yourself coming across the finish line, demonstrating these three behaviors. The more you focus on this image, the more likely you are to realize this during most of your runs.

RUNNING ENJOYMENT

Find a way to enjoy parts of every run–even the speed training (if you are a time goal runner). Most of your runs should be.…mostly enjoyable. You increase the pleasure of each run by inserting a few social/scenic/mentally refreshing runs every week. Your desire to take your next run, and move up your training to the half marathon and beyond, is enhanced by scheduling the fun sessions first, with one to three of them every week.

STAY INJURY FREE

When injured runners review their journal, they often find the causes of aches and pains. Make a list of past problems, and repeated challenges. After reading the injury section of this book, make the needed adjustments. As you eliminate the injury stress, you can eliminate most (or all) of your injuries.

AVOIDING OVERUSE OR BURNOUT

All of us get the warning signs of overtraining. Unfortunately, we often ignore these or don’t know what they are. Your training journal is a wonderful tool for tracking any possible ache, pain, loss of desire, unusual fatigue that lingers, etc. If you develop an injury, you can review your journal and often find the reasons. This helps you to become more sensitive to future problems and make conservative adjustments in the plan to reduce upcoming injury risk.

BECOME THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR SHIP

When you balance stress and rest, running bestows a sense of satisfaction and achievement that is unsurpassed. Intuitively, we know that this is good for us, mentally and physically. When we decide to use the monitoring tools in this book we take a major amount of control over fatigue, injuries, energy level, and enjoyment of running.

WHEN TO SET A TIME GOAL

After finishing your first half marathon you may choose a time goal, after reading the “Predicting Race Performance” chapter. Many veterans (myself included) decide to stay within their capabilities, use the “to finish” schedule, and enjoy the experience.

I commend all who decide to take on an endurance challenge. Almost everyone who makes it to the finish line will tap into a mysterious and complex source of continuing strength and balance: the human spirit. Enjoy the journey!