Goal Setting: Setting your sights on personal bests
Quick: What would Napoleon, Neil Armstrong, and the winner of a competitive eating contest have in common?
Here’s the answer: their focused determination towards a single task allowed them to be successful in what they set out to do. They had ambition, intent and a sense of meaning to what they were doing. They had GOALS that facilitated the success they were after.
Well-crafted goals offer you a road map for the months of training you will undertake—hour after hour—before your big event. These goals will enable you to achieve your highest level of performance on race day by ensuring that your training is focused and appropriate—your mind has honed in on exactly what you want to achieve in your goal race, and you know how to act out your performance to achieve this goal.
Goal setting, like any of the training you regularly do, has a process. To create goals that guide you towards your athletic dreams, make them S.M.A.R.T.:
Specific: Identify a specific action or event that will take place.
Measurable: The goal and its outcome should be measurable.
Achievable: The goal should be attainable given the time you have and your current fitness and experience.
Realistic: A well-founded goal is one that will require you to improve from where you are beginning, but also allow a strong likelihood of success.
Timely: The goal should include the date or time period by which it will be achieved.
Goal setting is a dynamic process. It is appropriate to set several goals in one session. Come up with five items that you would like to work on that relate to your main goal. Make sure to state your goals as a declaration of your intent and not a wimpy wish for an ideal outcome. “I will run 2:43:30 at the Chicago marathon in October of 2008” is a stronger statement of intent than, “I want to be a faster marathoner.”
Develop short-term and long-term goals. I have my athletes set short-term goals that will take them through the next 12 weeks, intermediate goals for the next 9-12 months, and then long-term goals for the next 24 months. This three-tier goal setting process encourages athletes to prioritize events they would like to participate in and determine what their goals are for those events over the short and intermediate time periods (1-12 months). Most importantly, the long-term goals set a course for us to follow in developing our strengths into even greater assets, improving on weaknesses, and encouraging continued education in our sport. These details make up the 1% difference between achieving great results and results that are merely good. These long-term goals tend to be more qualitative and may include a wider variety of ambitions like getting educated on nutrition, studying the lifestyles and training of great runners, or even something tangentially related, like learning a foreign language to use when traveling for a race.
Goal setting is best done with your coach or someone close to you who will be supportive AND objective about your endeavors. Sharing your intentions with others who are supportive of your training and racing will cement the bonds your share with them and promote your success in achieving these goals.
Make sure to write down your goals and put them in a place where you can see them. Many athletes will put their short-term declarations in a place where they will see them on a daily basis, like their mirror in the bathroom. From time to time revisit your goals and be comfortable reviewing and revising your list. Goals are not set in stone, and you are not a failure if you modify them. As with anything else, practice makes perfect, and your goal setting will improve the more you work with it.
For a complimentary worksheet to use in your goal setting visit Complete Running Programs at www.crpusa.com.
Long may you run,
Sean Coster
Complete Running Programs
About the Author
Sean Coster applies education in exercise physiology with his experience coaching runners to enable his athletes to realize their potential in running.
For more resources on improving your running subscribe to Sean’s blog at www.seancoster.org/runningportland or www.crpusa.com.
Copyright 2008 Complete Running Programs - May not be used without permission of the author.
POSTPONED: U.S. Olympic Hopeful Triathlete Mark Fretta to Speak in Portland
(1-2-08) This event has been postponed until further notice. Mark Fretta sustained an injury over the holidays and had to return to Colorado early. Please see the Portland Triathlon Club's Web site for future updates.
(12-20-07) From Press Release - Please join us in kicking off the 2008 season by welcoming Portland-native and 2008 Olympic hopeful Mark Fretta in an exclusive guest appearence for the Portland Triathlon Club.
Mark is one of 6 individuals competing for 2 remaining slots in the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. Mark is also only second U.S. male athlete to hold the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World #1 ranking. With a sixth place finish at the Ishigaki ITU World Cup on April 16, 2006, he accumulated enough world cup points to take his place atop the triathlon world. held the #1 ITU ranking for 6 weeks and finished 2nd at the ITU Doha World Cup as well, before suffering a season ending injury in a subsequent race. A competitive runner and swimmer at Jesuit High School and College of the Holy Cross, Mark has spent the last 5 years as a resident on the USA national Triathlon at the National Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. More about Mark can be read on his profile from the ITU: HERE
We're very happy to host Mark in this speaking engagement which will occur on Thursday, January 3rd at 7:30pm at the Lucky Lab in NW Portland. Mark will speak for 20 minutes and then be available for Q&A for 20 minutes after that. Please come early for seating as triathletes outside the PTC in the Portland/Vancouver Metro area will be attending.
Topics to include:
- Summary of his story to date
- The differences between ITU racing and amateur racing
- Advice to athletes considering moving into ITU
- Beijing selection process
- Life in Coloardo Springs at the National training center--a typical day/week
We look forward to seeing you there.
When: Thursday, January 3rd, 7:30pm
Where: Lucky Lab, NW Portland, 1945 NW Quimby (Directions - click here)
(12-20-07) From Press Release - Please join us in kicking off the 2008 season by welcoming Portland-native and 2008 Olympic hopeful Mark Fretta in an exclusive guest appearence for the Portland Triathlon Club.
Mark is one of 6 individuals competing for 2 remaining slots in the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. Mark is also only second U.S. male athlete to hold the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World #1 ranking. With a sixth place finish at the Ishigaki ITU World Cup on April 16, 2006, he accumulated enough world cup points to take his place atop the triathlon world. held the #1 ITU ranking for 6 weeks and finished 2nd at the ITU Doha World Cup as well, before suffering a season ending injury in a subsequent race. A competitive runner and swimmer at Jesuit High School and College of the Holy Cross, Mark has spent the last 5 years as a resident on the USA national Triathlon at the National Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. More about Mark can be read on his profile from the ITU: HERE
We're very happy to host Mark in this speaking engagement which will occur on Thursday, January 3rd at 7:30pm at the Lucky Lab in NW Portland. Mark will speak for 20 minutes and then be available for Q&A for 20 minutes after that. Please come early for seating as triathletes outside the PTC in the Portland/Vancouver Metro area will be attending.
Topics to include:
- Summary of his story to date
- The differences between ITU racing and amateur racing
- Advice to athletes considering moving into ITU
- Beijing selection process
- Life in Coloardo Springs at the National training center--a typical day/week
We look forward to seeing you there.
When: Thursday, January 3rd, 7:30pm
Where: Lucky Lab, NW Portland, 1945 NW Quimby (Directions - click here)
Eugene set to host 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and '09, '11 Championships
(12-12-07) - From USATF Press Release - USA Track & Field and the U.S. Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced their intent to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field in Eugene, Oregon, USATF CEO Craig Masback announced Wednesday. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference on the University of Oregon campus.
Eugene, which next year will host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, also will host the 2009 and 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Masback announced.
Site of the 1972, '76, '80 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field and the 1999 and 2001 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Oregon's Hayward Field will be the site of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where the roster for Team USA will be selected for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In 2009, Team USA will select its roster for the 2009 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany, and 2011 will see the selection of the American squad for the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Heading back to Track Town
The Oregon Track Club, along with its partners the University of Oregon, local and state government, corporate sponsors and the local community, is the official host for the three championship meets. In its successful bid for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, the Oregon Track Club and Eugene '08 local organizing committee put their focus on enhancing the experience for athletes and coaches, while providing a celebratory atmosphere for fans and the community. It is that approach that helped convince USATF to return to Track Town, USA, for four of the next five years.
"The commitment of Eugene, its local organizers and the entire community to track and field is unprecedented," Masback said. "Ticket packages for the 2008 Trials sold out months ago, and already you can feel a buzz in the air here about the event, from the banners at the airport to the construction going on at Hayward Field. There is no place quite like Track Town, USA, and we look forward to returning here as we move through the next Olympic Games cycle."
"The magnitude of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for track and field deserves a host that is passionate about the sport and that can provide the best competitive environment," said Steve Roush, USOC Chief of Sport Performance. "The U.S. Olympic Committee is confident that the city of Eugene is ready to demonstrate that next year and we look forward to a continued partnership with USA Track & Field and Eugene in making the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials even better."
For 2008, Eugene is expanding seating at Hayward Field, upgrading the competition and warm-up areas, upgrading media facilities and staging expansive new athlete programs. The site of the most prestigious invitational track meet in the country, the Nike Prefontaine Classic, Eugene has long been dubbed "Track Town, USA" for its rich track and field history and the community's appreciation of the sport. The Nike Prefontaine Classic regularly draws standing-room-only crowds, while athletes consistently rate Hayward Field as having one of the most compelling atmospheres of any stadium in the world.
"We like to think that Eugene is the spiritual home for track and field in the United States, and we wanted to make it the physical home, as well," said Vin Lananna,associate athletic directorat the University of Oregon, which also will host the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships. "Bringing the USA Championships and U.S. Olympic Team Trials back to Hayward Field for multiple years was a huge priority for us. We are thrilled with the news announced today."
The largest national championship track meet in the world, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field hosts more than 1,000 athletes as they compete for the right to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games. More than 350,000 fans attended the last two U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, and at each edition of the meet, more than 1,000 members of the media from around the world cover the event while thousands of volunteers and officials provide support.
For more information check out USATF.org or Eugene08.com
Eugene, which next year will host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, also will host the 2009 and 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Masback announced.
Site of the 1972, '76, '80 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field and the 1999 and 2001 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Oregon's Hayward Field will be the site of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where the roster for Team USA will be selected for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In 2009, Team USA will select its roster for the 2009 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany, and 2011 will see the selection of the American squad for the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Heading back to Track Town
The Oregon Track Club, along with its partners the University of Oregon, local and state government, corporate sponsors and the local community, is the official host for the three championship meets. In its successful bid for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, the Oregon Track Club and Eugene '08 local organizing committee put their focus on enhancing the experience for athletes and coaches, while providing a celebratory atmosphere for fans and the community. It is that approach that helped convince USATF to return to Track Town, USA, for four of the next five years.
"The commitment of Eugene, its local organizers and the entire community to track and field is unprecedented," Masback said. "Ticket packages for the 2008 Trials sold out months ago, and already you can feel a buzz in the air here about the event, from the banners at the airport to the construction going on at Hayward Field. There is no place quite like Track Town, USA, and we look forward to returning here as we move through the next Olympic Games cycle."
"The magnitude of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for track and field deserves a host that is passionate about the sport and that can provide the best competitive environment," said Steve Roush, USOC Chief of Sport Performance. "The U.S. Olympic Committee is confident that the city of Eugene is ready to demonstrate that next year and we look forward to a continued partnership with USA Track & Field and Eugene in making the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials even better."
For 2008, Eugene is expanding seating at Hayward Field, upgrading the competition and warm-up areas, upgrading media facilities and staging expansive new athlete programs. The site of the most prestigious invitational track meet in the country, the Nike Prefontaine Classic, Eugene has long been dubbed "Track Town, USA" for its rich track and field history and the community's appreciation of the sport. The Nike Prefontaine Classic regularly draws standing-room-only crowds, while athletes consistently rate Hayward Field as having one of the most compelling atmospheres of any stadium in the world.
"We like to think that Eugene is the spiritual home for track and field in the United States, and we wanted to make it the physical home, as well," said Vin Lananna,associate athletic directorat the University of Oregon, which also will host the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships. "Bringing the USA Championships and U.S. Olympic Team Trials back to Hayward Field for multiple years was a huge priority for us. We are thrilled with the news announced today."
The largest national championship track meet in the world, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field hosts more than 1,000 athletes as they compete for the right to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games. More than 350,000 fans attended the last two U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, and at each edition of the meet, more than 1,000 members of the media from around the world cover the event while thousands of volunteers and officials provide support.
For more information check out USATF.org or Eugene08.com
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