If you had to summarize your running year in one word, what would it be? Mine would be “Almost”. I ran my 3rd best Manchester Classic, finished in 2nd or 3rd in a race three times, could not get under 40 minutes for the 10K and ran my 2nd-best 1/2 marathon. Although I did run my lifetime PR in the 20K and my fastest 5K since 2010, it all felt a little hollow for me. So what was it for you?
In order to have a good goal for next year, you need to assess the current year. What kind of year was it for you? Once you can figure that out, then you can see what went right and what went wrong. Examples:
- Injuries
- Exhaustion
- Overtraining
- Boredom
- Races finished too slow/fast
- DNFs
- Not enough time to train and race
The plan you come up with for next year could involve many steps. Think of what you need to get to your goal. Is it a coach? Is it a new running group or a different place to start running? Is it a different time of day to run? Whatever it is, change something up – changes in running keep you fresh and motivated.
What is your goal for 2017?
Think About It
Plan It
Execute It !
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