Yes, Did it !! Successfully completed my Goal of 500 miles run for 2013.This makes it two in a row after first edition of 500 miles in 2012. In this blog, I have shared my running experience,The Goals for 2014,Benefits of goal setting,Tracking and some running pictures,. The purpose of this post is not to boast about myself but to share my experience and a sincere attempt to spread the benefits of staying healthy and fit. My purpose is served if at least few get inspired and take up some physical activity to stay healthy.
Happy reading !
Why is it important to set a Goal?
I know some of my friends ran more than me but didn’t track their activities. My point is that by setting a definitive goal you have a far better chance of achieving them than those who do not. We wouldn’t have paid a close attention but even the simplest daily tasks revolve around setting goals. As Jeff Croswell, Trainer says ” Goals it seems simple enough but many don’t know how to go about it or what the benefits are for setting goals. Think of goals as a destination. When you travel you typically have a certain place to go or visit, goals are no different. If you’re traveling with no destination you are traveling aimlessly with no real purpose of where you are going or what you want to achieve. The benefit of setting goals is to achieve something in your timeline. So whether it is a short term goal or long term goal you must set a certain path so you know where you are going and if you are headed down the right path. So much of us who want to lose weight but never really set a goal of how much or by what date you want to. This can be frustrating when you don’t see results or it really doesn’t happen fast enough for us. So setting those realistic goals by week or month you benefit of know what you want to accomplish. Just remember goals never end up going in a straight line, there can be set backs. Learn from your mistakes and move forward”.
For instance, when I set my goal, I broke it down into monthly and weekly plans on how much to run and when to run .So this way I can organize and plan my tasks accordingly.We always hope things go according to our plan,but may not sometimes. So it is important to be flexible to adjust your plan to accomplish your goal. Remember the Goal must stay the same but the Plan must be adjusted. It is important to assess why things didn’t get as per the plan and asking yourself on how you can prevent that from happening in the future.
Hadn’t I set my goal, I would have settled for less and thus wouldn’t have known my potential. So it is about breaking the self-barrier to conquer what you want. It’s not like I have conquered everything in this world by running 500 miles this year,But it’s certainly a reassurance to myself that I can attain what I want if I have the will power to do it. It is a reassurance that I’m taking good care of my health. It serves as a tonic to boost my confidence. It helps in spreading the awareness of well-being and last but not the least setting a good example to our children.The healthy body starts with a healthy mind and the confidence one gets with a healthy mind and body is enormous and helps in positive thinking.
Was my plan perfect ? Not at all. In fact it had hitches as I had not accounted few elements in it. So it needed a change,however what made my plan still sail through successfully was the determination to go for it.There have been times when thoughts came in my mind to give up,especially during the last month when I was out of action for 3 weeks for some medical attention. However I was determined to complete my Goal as I had worked hard on it the entire year and just didn’t want to give up. Giving up would have hit my moral a bit when you make diligent goals and plans.
Sharing the Goal with my family and friends helped me in a big way.Firstly, their constant encouragement and support motivated me to go for it and secondly their prompts when I wasn’t getting enough runs.So thanks to all of them !
2013 Recap
I had set quarterly goals at the beginning of the year. Plan was to run 100 miles in 1st and 4th quarter and 150 miles each in 2nd and 4th quarter. 1st quarter was a success as I was exceeded my target by 6 miles. However I fell short on my target in 2nd quarter by 48 miles. 
With a backlog of 42 miles,my 3rd quarter target was 192 miles. No doubt 3rd quarter was a productive one for me as I was able to run 117 miles but still ended up with a big deficit of 75 miles. So pressure piled up in last quarter to run 175 miles at an average of 59 miles a month. Of course it was a herculean task as I had never run so much in a quarter.Add to the woes,The brutal cold never seen in decades was back.A huge motivation needed to run everyday but the problem was that I was not so consistent.I preferred thrice a week schedule with big runs.I was cursing myself for creating such a big backlog and when I assessed it was mainly due to the unplanned things and lack of consistency on my part. As much as I wanted to be consistent, due to travel, work and other stuffs I didn’t do so well there. For sure an action item for me in 2014.
From statistics standpoint,
I ran 114 times in the entire year at an average of 4.3 miles to get to my 500 miles.- November was the most productive month with 65 miles followed by August with 61 miles and January with 57 miles.
- Total calories burnt – 62961
- Total time to run 500 miles – 86 Hrs. and 7 mins
Nike Plus called me “Night Owl” as 62%of my run was in the night.
My preference was to run outdoor than indoor and I’m glad I was able to do lot of outdoor running between April and September. Nothing is more relaxing than a jog down the beach or through the woods. It seems a lot more appealing than trucking it to the gym, standing in line for a treadmill, and then counting the mileage as you churn away. Apart from the trails near to home, I also had an opportunity to run in various scenic places including but not limited to Bridgeport, CT, Tawas City and Oscoda (MI), Rocky Mountains, Austin, Deserted streets of Birmingham, AL, and Vintage St Louis,Again, it’s a feel good factor to be able check of the task which span a year,especially when I was able to accommodate it amid travel, family time and other commitments. So I can safely say that 2013 was a good work-life balance year and now keenly looking for another eventful year.
Unveiling 2014 Goal
My goal for 2014 is to run 500 Miles and Sign up at least 5 members to run 100 miles each!!
Doesn’t matter where they live and what they use to track the activities,they can still be part of this Goal.I would recommend that they update their activities on the Facebook page Conquer 500( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Conquer-500/230162150377607) or send me the details so that I can keep track of it and give periodic updates. Purpose is to keep it simple,motivate each other and accomplish the goal ! . Conquer 500 Facebook page can be a forum to share the running ideas, techniques, experiences etc. This can create a good team atmosphere and may help runners push to a new level of performance.
My goal is not to sign up someone who is already an avid runner. This may technically make my goal easier but would defeat the purpose. I’m looking for those enthusiasts who have either not run or been sporadic runners, but willing to take up this Goal. They can certainly go above the target miles if they want. No limits set,Rather it’s good to raise the bar for themselves and others.
Finally, Some Running pictures –
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway
A small town but people here have big hearts. happened to meet some very friendly people. Everyone knows each other here.
The median age in the city was 50.9 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.7% were from 25 to 44; 31.2% were from 45 to 64; and 27.5% were 65 years of age or older.
Birmingham,AL
Monthly parking rent – $500
“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” –Buddha
Vidya Hanbal 
Awesome awesome!
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Thanks !
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