Running Shorts

Welp, time for end of the year lists, time for reflection, time for taking stock on the recent past. LOOKING BACK AT 2014 2014 was, from my perspective, very much a return to form. I finally got back the consistency that had been lacking in my training since college. In 2012 and 2013, I was constantly shifting between race plans and training methods. I wasn't running consistent mileage, I wasn't doing appropriate development workouts, I wasn't training with any real plan in mind. I was just following my whims of the week. But a little over a year ago I stopped writing my own workouts and got a coach to do that for me. I picked a new focus on long-term development for the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials, which gave direction to my training. I had stability in the workplace, so I could get into a regular routine of running. I focused on solid, fundamental training. And the results speak for themselves. I definitely had a few hiccups (summer hamstring woes) and a few disa...

*Cue obligatory New Year's Resolution post. Before I hop in on my goals for 2014, I wanted to write a quick note on goal-setting. Too often when writing goals, we focus on the wrong things, which only sets us up for disappointment. Namely, our goals are often outcome-oriented: I want to run X time or finish in Y place. Sometimes we accomplish these goals, sometimes we don't. The problem with this approach is that it limits the action time to one specific event on one specific day with many factors affecting the outcome that are out of one's immediate control (i.e., weather, competition, course conditions, etc.). We put the focus on the end result, but not on the process to achieve that end result. We hope to improve finishing time or place, but we neglect to specify the method we will use to achieve those results. Instead, goal-setting should be action-oriented. Focus on the means to reach an end. I know I want to run a certain time, so what are the everyday steps I n...