It’s that time of year. The beginning! So we as runners typically look forward to the next year with goals and ambitions built around certain races or times we’d like to hit. This blog post will give you five easy tips to help you set attainable goals and accomplish them in the New Year.

Look Back

The best way to get set up for the new year is to take a look back at the previous year at your accomplishments. Did you hit all your goals? If so awesome! How can you replicate that success? If not, why? What can you do different this year? You can also look back at last year and build on it this year. Maybe last year you completed your first ever 5k, congratulations!! Now you can set your sights on a 10k or even a Half Marathon this year. Looking back can give you some perspective moving forward.

Assess Your Fitness

So you know what you did last year. Now you’ve got to figure out where you are at right now. A great way to assess your fitness as a runner is with a time trial. You can vary the distance depending on your goal. If you’re shooting for a 5k pick a low key race and see where you are at. Then you’ll at least have a baseline of fitness to build upon.

Pick Your Goal Races

So now it’s time to get down to business. What are you shooting for? Do you want to run a 5k? 10k? Half? Full? Ultra? Figure out what you’d like to accomplish this year and take a look at the calendar. Pick some goal races that you’d like to take part in. Set some attainable times based on your previous year and your current fitness (if ya need help just ask) and you’re ready to rock!

Map It Out

Taking a holistic view of the season map out what your training plan should look like is super helpful. If you need a little assistance you can look for help from a coach. Coach Doyle, Myself or Coach Mwangi are great resources for you to take advantage of. Taking the time to build out your training plan is huge. You can build in the appropriate workouts, mileage and most importantly the correct amount of rest. 

Get To Work

You’ve taken a look back, you know where you’re at, you’ve picked some solid goals and it’s time to put the nose to the grind stone and get to work. You’ve got a plan so stick to it as best you can, listen to your body and this year will be even better than the last one! 

Cheers,

Coach E