Have I Mentioned Setting GOALS?!

The topic comes up again... GOAL SETTING!!! This past weekend, I had the opportunity to accomplish one of my goals, and boy-oh-boy did it feel incredible.

As many of you know, I started running about two years ago, and have made it my own little sport against myself. Of course, I started with a mile. A long, painful mile that probably took me way longer than it should have. Each day I ran just a little further and a week later I could run 2 miles. For the past few years, I have tried to go a little further each day. Something I've learned is that even when you are exhausted, push yourself a few extra steps. It is the only way you'll ever be able to push past your goals and improve on your running skills. As they say, a workout isn't meant to be easy!! So motivate yourself to go just a little further, even if it is a little bit painful. You will be SO proud of yourself at the end of your run!

A running buddy was also CRUCIAL in my running successes. When I moved to Boston, my roomate Svenja had just run a marathon.... yep, 26.2 miles. And I..... could only run 1. She was my inspiration to run, to run further, and to keep going when I wanted to stop and walk. Running with a partner is so much easier! I find my mind wandering about my day's events rather than how I want my run to be over :) After running with Svenja, and now my other roomate Hannah, I have been able to run further than ever before, which prompted me to sign up for my first 5k and 10k races starting last September!

Me, Hannah, and Svenja. Running Buddies :)

With each race, I try to improve my time by just a little bit. Remember, GOAL SETTING!? My first 10k race (6.2 miles) was somewhere around 1 hour 4 mins, my next 10k was 52 minutes, so this previous weekend, my goal was 50 minutes. It seemed extreme to me, but it gave me something to work for, and was a great reason to push myself just a little further and a little harder on each of my training runs! It wasn't easy, and some of my runs were torture (running up and down hills... yuck!) but I knew it would be worth it when I crossed the finish line of the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day 10k.

RACE BIB!!! #3438 babyyyy

On race day, I was SO. EXCITED. beyond words. I was SO ready to accomplish my goal (hopefully) and ready to run my legs off. After a good breakfast and a delicious banana, we were off! The race was very hilly (the down-hills were great!) but all in all, it felt so awesome to run. And pass a bunch of boys, hehe! And best of all........................................................... I ACCOMPLISHED  MY GOAL!!!!!

10 seconds before my goal, perfect!

It felt SO wonderful, and that is why I had to blog about goal-setting yet again. If you set your mind to something and work your hardest to achieve it, your result will be SO rewarding! If you aren't a runner, set other fitness goals!! Staying on the elliptical for 5 minutes longer... lifting 5 more lbs... you name it! What are you passionate about? What is your goal? Good Luck :)

Morgan