40K Conundrum (YEG)

At the beginning of the year I dedicated 2017 to be the “Year of 40.” If you didn’t already know, I like themes, I like it when I can make connections and link things, creating one big picture. This year I set a few goals related to turning the “Big 40” – running 40kms on my birthday and running a minimum of 40km each week of 2017. There were a couple others thrown in there…a marathon and a 50km for Rob’s 50th year…but with only 6 weeks left in 2017, I have only one of these goals left to still check off…40km/week for the whole year.

When I started out I didn’t think too much about this goal and what it would take to achieve it because it just sounded so good and fit into my “Year of 40” theme so well! In January there was a lululemon Strava challenge that helped me hit my 40km challenge and kept me running, then I quickly moved into “race season”, which, when initially planning out the year I didn’t have any “races” in mind yet ended up racing far more than expected with resulting PBs in my half marathon and full marathon times – Year of 40! It was a struggle to fit in the 40km week after my marathon and the 50km ultra and more than a few people said that I could probably just carry over a few kms from the previous week or average it out for the month. Again, if you didn’t already know, I am a stickler for rules, even the ones that I make and impose on myself and so, “the goal wasn’t to do an average of 40km a week it was to do a minimum of 40km a week…,” was my response to those voices kindly suggesting that I ease up on myself. But I made it through the fall, track record intact, coxing friends into longer weekend runs than they probably wanted to run, thanks Nadim, and early NP morning pre-runs to add in kms when work demanded that I miss my evening runs. Mexico presented an interesting conundrum, I either had to get 4 short hot runs in or face 2 x 20km runs last weekend…I chose the hot runs…oh, it felt so good to sweat, plus my resort even had a 5km race one morning! So here we are, 6 weeks remaining, I am determined to check this goal off my list.

But I also know that I won’t set another goal like this. Again, if you didn’t already know, I am stubborn. I set this goal in January and once it was set I was of the attitude that I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I probably should have rested more after my marathon. I should have given my body a break after the Grizzly 50km. I should have left my running shoes at home and simply relaxed when I went to Mexico. Setting this year long, weekly goal at times locked me into a commitment that was not the healthiest. There were times that I was running just to hit this number, no longer for the joy of it but simply so that I can check something off December 31. Don’t get me wrong, I will be pumped to check this goal off and will likely humbly brag about it and I will be proud that I stuck with it. But I have learned something in the process of working towards this goal. When I set my goals for 2018 I need to make them a little less prescriptive. I need to allow myself the freedom to deviate from an initial course while still ending up at the finish line.

I share this story and ask you to reflect on the goals you set for 2017. What did you learn about yourself? What type of goals will you set for 2018? Why are you setting those goals? How do you want to feel when you achieve them? Once you know these answers, and even if you don’t know for sure, talk about them. The best part of sharing your goals is that you surround yourself with people who will support you in your quest, offer their wisdom (even when you don’t always heed their advice), and celebrate your successes with you. Know that your NP tribe will have your back the whole way!

Thanks for meeting us under the bridge today – running there and during the workout earned me 3.3km towards my 40km this week 😉