A Goal Is A Dream With A Plan

So wrote Macca in his book ‘I’m Here To Win’.

Goals are the basis of motivation and motives. Goals give us a purpose to advance and progress in our lives. Which are some of your recent goals?

Here are my collaborative marathon race strategies my runner model and pacer, Melvin How; we interviewed him a few months ago on aging athletes.

Plan A: First 2km at 5:00-5:15 minute/km pace to ease into a race pace. Hold the heart-rate at 155BPM +/- 2% for 30km, then open up in the final 12km and ignore the spike in HR. We hope to hold our pace and heart-rate for a race-day average of 4:42min/K as many factors can affect performance.

Plan B: If Melvin’s heel condition flares up, then we switch to damage control and attempt for a target of a revised Boston Qualifier (BQ) instead of the 3:20:00 goal. For our age group, a BQ has to be 3:24:59 and faster. As of 2013, all BQs have been reduced across the board by five minutes.

Plan C: If it is too painful for Melvin to continue, I will be on my own while he just attempts to finish, or target the SAFRA CRT time of 3:45:00 for veterans.

I am thankful that Melvin agreed to pace with me, as I believe that this may allow me to pace with more discipline. I have a tendency to race with my heart instead of my head in the initial portion of my races. If I aspire to earn a negative split on my second-half, then it will involve me sticking to my plan and not just sticking to my guns.

I posted on the Facebook forum that I am tapering for next weekend’s marathon. Actually, it is business as usual as this 42.195K is part of my preparation for IMNZ 2012. This is my final A-race for 2011, and a time trial in itself. Next week is my second training block after my Build Phase. My Endurance building block is next, focusing on managing a higher workload.

Making Advances & Advancing Forward

“If a man advances confidently in the directions of his dreams to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.  He will pass an invisible boundary: new, universal and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.” – Henry David Thoreau

What is your dream job? What would be your dream working conditions? How would you know if you have achieved these conditions? How would you heighten your sense of well being during ‘common hours’?

The fact is that, as endurance athletes, we can train at unusual and uncommon hours. We have many choices. Sleep in and train in the evening; or arise early and train before breakfast and the early shift. Isn’t it a wonder that races take place on weekends AND weekdays? There are morning races (Ironman 70.3 Singapore; Singapore Marathon), as well as evening ones (Sundown Marathon/Ultra; Marina21K; Northface 100).

Take steps forward by shifting your variables. Move them around. Tweak them. Advance confidently towards your life!