Coz I Can - My S.M.A.R.T. Goal

"You must see your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out for them. Hold them in your mind until they become second nature."
Les Brown


As a Coach, I am committed to a lifetime of growth.  I also believing in setting and achieving Goals - I love having Targets and a Vision, I love achieving my Goals.

So today I started my journey towards a new Goal - today I have set the Goal to run from my place, around the Esplanade at Cronulla - I am estimating that the run will take about 1.5-2 hours. 

I often talk about how I "used to be" a runner.  I love running, LOVE running!  In the past I "used to" run many fun runs and races - every weekend I would be making sure I was in the front line, and off I would race, watching the clock, racing to beat my time, racing to win.  Running was a HUGE part of my life, I loved being in a running club, I loved running every morning, I loved competing in a race, rain, hail or shine, super early in the morning - I loved it!!

However, I have not raced for a long time, probably 3-4 years - a long time!  Over the last few years, I have set myself a new Goal of just enjoying running for the love of running, no longer competing or being in a running club - however, in the last 2 years I have been injured, on and off, that has definitely been slowing me down - where I have probably only ran for blocks of 15-30 minutes.  Plus now I have exchanged my loved brand of Asics that were light and speedy for Shape-Ups, which I love, and feel serve me, but which I have recently found out burn 15% more oxygen - which is great sometimes - but makes running more challenging - although I am choosing not to focus on this fact.

I have turned to other sports, I talk of other sports, "I'm gunna.." - thinking I will take up swimming or paddling or yoga or pilates - and while these would no doubt be wonderful as part of a cross training plan, I still come back to running - I love running!

After speaking with my Physiotherapist, who is a brilliant woman, I have decided to get back into running.  My Physio is one of those people that you feel so grateful to have met on your journey - I love hearing stories of the impact she is having on healing her Clients, everyday she is touching lives and making a difference, she is definitely a woman who knows how to Spread The Yellow.  Aideen is so honest and I love her direct communication - I also love that Aideen is a strong believer in the power of Visualisation and the Law of Attraction.  When talking to Aideen about running and my struggle - Aideen was quick to remind me that I had pictures and words about running on my Vision Board - that this is important to me - Aideen was direct in telling me that I CAN RUN - that I have to run - it is on my Vision Board!!!   

I have been putting up so many barriers - and I am realising my own fears and limiting beliefs that are holding me back. One fear is that I will do further damange to my back, I also have a fear that my love of running will take my life out of balance (where life balance is very important to me) - and in line with that, if my running becomes so huge in my life again, I have a fear that my love of running may lead to dramatic weight loss which may affect me having a baby.  And Yet with Aideen's reminder, I turn to my Vision Board and there are the words, "Run For You - And Enjoy It!" .

While I Run For Me, and don't want to put pressure on myself, I'm realising that I am missing the sense of achievement that comes from setting and achieving running Goals - even if I am only setting and achieving them for myself.

I also remember in talking to Aideen, my gifted Physio and friend, that when I was running and competing, I was so often injured, I was always having scans, and getting fractures - and yet it had never stopped me running - I just wanted to get fixed, get the go ahead and get running.  So thank you Aideen - for giving me the go ahead - I am going to get running!

So time for a S.M.A.R.T. Goal.  Looking up on the Internet I can see that there are different variations of the acronym, and there seems to be an overlap of the meanings, in some of the different letters in the acronym -

S - stretching, significant, specific

M - meaningful, measureable, motivational

A - attainable, achievable, agreed upon, action-oriented, acceptable

R - relevant, realistic, rewarding, reasonable, results-oriented

T - tangible, time-based, timely, trackable.

What makes sense for me, for this particular Goal is

Specific - Running from my place, around Gunnamatta Bay, up and around Darook Park, around the Esplanade, up to the fence that leads the way to the Sand Dunes

Measureable - This Goal is to be achieved within 12 weeks (I have allowed 12 weeks since this is normally the time of working with a Client on a Goal, so I thought I would give myself the same amount of time) - my Goal is to be achieved by 20 June 2010

Action-Oriented - Coaching is always about taking Next Steps towards a Goal - my Goal is based on running 3 times a week, every 2nd day (which will help me maintain balance and help me with my fears)

Rewarding - This Goal is about me - setting and achieving a Goal for myself - that is always Rewarding - I love the pure joy of running - to run the 1.5-2 hours for this run will be wonderful and exciting and definitely Rewarding

Timely - The Goal has a specific time frame and the time frame for the Goal is realistic - I have previously been on runs up to 3.5 hours, up to 35kms - I know training is the key, and as I have run before, I can draw on my Inner Strength and strong memories of my running success - I also feel that 12 weeks gives me plenty of time to build up my endurance (without too much pressure).

Aideen, who is so in the know, recommends that I visualise myself running and see the picture so clearly in my mind's eye, that it feels so real and is so possible - and then I just go out and run - running the run the second time - the first time in my mind's eye.  It makes sense!!  I was reading on the Internet where there was a study done a while back with Olympic runners and visualisation, where there were two groups - one group of runners just practiced running for a set number of hours a day, and another group of runners used the same number of hours a day, but split the hours between practicing running and visualising themselves running.  "The results: Those runners that practiced without visualisation showed little improvement on their times where those that mixed creative visualisation in with their training showed great improvements over their previous times" (http://www.positivethinking-toolbox.com/importance-of-visualization.html - there are other great treasures on this website)

So last night, before I fall asleep, and first thing, this morning, I close my eyes, focusing on my breathe, letting go of my thoughts, and visualise myself running - walking down the stairs and then I run, running down the street, running along the waterway of Gunnamatta Bay, up the hill and racing halfway up the street to Darook.  So I visualise it twice and it feels wonderful.  And so this morning, I felt fantastic - and I went running, so confident - and so clear about my Goal - so focused!  I ran, and kept running and kept running - knowing my Goal, despite the struggle up the hill, I kept going, relaxing into my breathe - and even sprinting the final 200 metres.  It was wonderful - all up I only ran 17 minutes - but I reached the milestone for today - and I felt FANTASTIC!  Thanks Aideen for inspiring me, and reminding me of my own capability, my own dreams, the importance of visualisation.

I'm looking forward to Wednesday's run, Coz I Can, next milestone is to run past Darook Park (visualising it first - and then time to go running!!)