[Author’s Note: This article is part of an occasional series on the unique opportunities and challenges of growing older as a runner.]
That is the time of yr many people take inventory of the place we’re and the place we need to go and set objectives for the yr. For me, as I undertake my annual goal-setting train, I attempt to set objectives which can be each bold and lifelike. As I’ve grown older, I’ve discovered it tougher to search out the superb line between these two, but just lately I’ve concluded that there are three keys to setting objectives that obtain each ends.
1. Set Each Quick- and Lengthy-Time period Targets
Initially of the train, I prefer to divide my objectives into short-term and long-term “buckets.” Having objectives that may be achieved in a number of weeks or months alongside objectives that will take a yr or longer to achieve provides me steadiness and permits me to see the forest from the bushes.
For me in 2025, my two short-term working objectives are to get 10% quicker in my customary endurance runs, and to efficiently end the Cocodona 250 Mile in early Could. My two longer-term objectives, conversely, are to lose 15 kilos and improve my muscular power by 10% over the place it’s now. Each of those latter objectives will seemingly take the complete yr, if not longer.
The group on the 2024 Aravaipa Working’s Cocodona 250 MileTraining Run, which the writer attended to scope out the route. Picture courtesy of AJW.
2. Attempt for Targets That Are Intrinsically Satisfying
In my youthful days, I usually set objectives that have been extrinsically targeted: win a race, run a private greatest, beat so and so. As I’ve aged, nonetheless, I discover myself gravitating towards objectives which can be extra intrinsically targeted, objectives that matter solely to me.
In 2025, my intrinsic aim is to change into a extra expert path runner. I’ve realized over the previous a number of years that my path working expertise have waned, and consequently I’ve discovered myself transferring away from the paths and onto the roads. But, the factor is, I like the paths, and I do know that if I follow extra, I’ll get higher. Not so good as my youthful self, that’s for certain, however higher nonetheless. This aim doesn’t actually matter to different individuals, nevertheless it’s actually necessary to me, so we’ll see the way it goes.
The writer having fun with snowy trails with iRunFar’s Bryon Powell again in 2016. Picture: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
3. Set up Targets that Permit for Midcourse Correction
By means of expertise, I’ve come to appreciate that not all objectives have to be 100% achieved to be able to achieve success. Actually, some objectives could also be higher stored incomplete and be returned to at a later date. Based mostly on this, I prefer to set objectives that may be corrected over time within the occasion that issues evolve, life will get in the way in which, and extra. Establishing objectives that may be corrected midcourse permits me to stay versatile, artistic, and purposeful — with out being arbitrarily tied to a single consequence.
In any aim setting train, whether or not working associated or not, it may be helpful to appreciate that via life experiences gained as we age, we are able to refine what it means to set and obtain objectives and discover satisfaction in each the method and the product. On the finish of the day, being aware of each could make our lives extra enriched and the day-to-day grind only a bit extra significant.
Bottoms up!
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s beer of the week comes from Payette Brewing Firm in Boise, Idaho. Twelve Gauge Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is a beer made yearly to have a good time the vacations. The 2024 version is a deep, darkish, wealthy stout, with hints of chocolate and a barely burnt end. Weighing in at 11% ABV, it’s a full-bodied beer that’s up for almost any problem.
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What are your objectives for 2025?