Why are January resolutions so popular? Each year, gyms fill up and social media becomes clogged with motivational posts and personal declarations. Diets begin, and everywhere you look it’s #NewYearNewMe. But many of those resolutions fall away quickly. By the end of the first month of attempting life change, things are likely to be back to status quo. Why? Probably because change takes daily commitment that is much more difficult than typing out plans and announcing them to the world on Jan. 1.
Personally, I love setting long lists of goals when the calendar flips to a new year. My brain naturally segments my running into year-by-year breakdowns. Mileage goals start in January and end in December. I set PR goals for the year, and I try to establish overall training themes.
But what happens when I stumble right out of the gate (which happens far too often)? This year my main goal was to do more workouts. My comfort zone is logging high mileage all at medium effort. That approach has led me to faster marathon times over the years, but I know I can reach for more. Getting on the track and forcing myself into true speedwork should lead to some training breakthroughs. But going into today, I had only completed one track session in 29 days of 2019 (my goal is at least one a week).
It’s much easier to put a hard workout off and simply run easy mileage. I kept telling myself “you’ll hit the track either later today or tomorrow morning.” But when the alarm went off, or when I reached my self-imposed deadline, I kept delaying or cancelling.
I planned on doing a track workout yesterday with a training partner, but I ditched, saying I was exhausted and my legs were tight. Both statements were true, but I knew deep inside that I should do the workout. My legs would have loosened up, and I would have been fully awake and ready to go after just a few minutes warming up. But I chose to wimp out. I chose to avoid taking a step forward in my training.
Today I was well on my way to another failed training day. I didn’t get up and do my track workout at 7 a.m. I told myself I would do it later in the afternoon, even though I felt like I was lying to myself. Feeling down, I decided to run a couple (3-5) of miles easy. My January mileage goal is within reach, so I convinced myself to at least make slight progress in that area.
Sometimes all you need is the first step.
I ran around two and a half miles and realized I was right next to a high school track. Even though I didn’t carry any water for my run and I wasn’t wearing my speedwork shoes, I decided to quit avoiding my workout.
There isn’t anything special about my splits from today. I ran 12X400m hard with rolling 200m recoveries. It’s a workout I’ve done many times in the past (and much faster before as well). But I felt myself picking up confidence with each repeat. At first my goal was to run two laps hard and evaluate. Then I finished No. 3 and No. 4. By that point I knew I could at least run eight repeats. And if I can do eight, then 10 is right around the corner. Why would I stop at 10 when my initial goal going into the week was 12?
As I rounded into the final 200m, I thought about finishing my next marathon and finishing Boston again in April. When I cross those finish lines, will I be satisfied that I trained and ran my best? Or will I think back to skipped workouts and what could have been?
I hope today is a turning point. It felt like a breakthrough. Instead of making more excuses I decided to take a step forward. Then I sat down to write this blog — a post I’ve been thinking about but have put off all month.
Resolutions are great. Lofty goals give us something to dream about. But daily commitment is much harder to master.
I’ve written about will power before. It’s something I struggle with. Today was a win, but I know I will have to wake up tomorrow and fight the battle all over again.
Eventually all of the small daily wins will add up. Or excuses will keep me in the same place.
What are your goals for the year? Did January go the way you planned? If you aren’t on track for the 2019 you imagined, it’s not too late. It’s just going to take daily commitment.
What step are you going to take today?