Running Goals

I’m not much of a goal setter. Whenever I have had had success in the past, I have usually chalked it up to good luck or “things just working out.” I can’t think of too many times when I have had an expected outcome for something and deliberately planned it out.

So I wasn’t over thinking things in January, when I decided to start running again after a few years after breaking my ankle. My goals, if I had to make them explicit, at the time, were to feel less lazy and to feel strong.

A quick trip down memory lane- in 2016 I started running and things got more and more serious as I got to feeling better and better. I started by barely being able to run for more than three minutes, to running a few 10kms races and even a half marathon. Then in November of that year I broke my ankle and hadn’t really done any meaningful exercise since.

Fast forward back to January of 2020 and I was determined to get back into a routine. I had my old worn out shoes, a running watch that barely kept time and had to have the strap held together with electric tape and Skyelar’s old headphones that left foam residue all over my sweaty ear and face.

On my first run, I could barely reach 5kms and it took me 36:22 min. Running a plodding 7.5km pace. But it felt good to be back. Three times a week, each run making me feel less lazy and stronger. Goals achieved. I was also listening to podcast and filling my mind with lots of great thoughts and questions.

A few weeks later, I got some new shoes and finally a new Garmin watch. Things were getting a bit more serious and I was trying to get my time closer to a 30min 5km. My friend Lee, told me about the Garmin coach. Which is basically an algorithm that helps you achieve a….wait for it….goal! You tell the app your weight, current pace, how many times a week you want to run and your ideal race time.

I told Coach Amy (she is the fictional coach in my watch) that I wanted to run a 29.30 5Km by running four times a week for sixteen weeks. Felt simple, easy and totally doable. This was in May.

In June, Mairin got me some great Air Pods and I was cooking. Amy had me running hills, different distances and tracking my progress- bit by bit and step by step. 13km here, 8km there, I never missed a run. If I knew I was going out on Friday night, I would wake up in the morning and clock a 7km run. If I was a bit hungover, I would stomp through a short Saturday evening run.

Sometime in August, I achieved my goal of 29:30 so I changed it to 29, then 28:30, then I bought some new proper Under Armor running clothes. So here I am in September, decked out in proper gear, cranking tunes these days and getting ready for my last session with Coach Amy with the goal of a 27:30 5km.

Woke up Saturday morning fresh, put on Vs by Pearl Jam and hit the concrete. I felt great. I was running fast and furious and didn’t feel lazy or tired, but strong. I was not pushing myself too hard and kept a stay pace throughout. When it was all over I came in at 26:21 with a 5:15 a km pace. I never dreamed I would be running at that pace in January.

I’m not sure if that is a good time, but that’s the beauty of running, you are always trying to beat your own personal best and here I had blown myself out of the water. Although shout out to Martin for always making me want to go a bit faster to keep up with him.

Maybe setting deliberate goals, with feedback and adjustments really does work. I wonder what other areas of my life could benefit from this type of explicit goal setting?

My time with Coach Amy is over and I wasn’t sure what would come next- below an hour 10km, or a faster five. The 10 km goal will have to wait. For the next eleven weeks, Coach Greg and I will be trying to get my 5km time to 25 mins. Who knows maybe in a few weeks, I will be looking at getting below twenty five mins.