What is a goal? the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.
Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it.
I'm sure you've heard or seen the word "Smart" to describe goal setting. They say you need to have specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time limited goals.
I've thought a lot about this over the past couple of weeks. It can be hard to set goals because some you may fear that you can't really attain them and you will be a failure. As for me, I think it's important to write down a list of weaknesses or qualities that you would like to improve. (No one has to see this list. It's for you to use to focus on goals you are going to set.) Then write down a list of your strengths and best qualities. This list is just as important as your weaknesses. You will be able to draw strength despite your flaws and set some reasonable goals.
"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself- the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at." - Jesse Owens
So what are my BIG goals for 2016?
1. Back 2 Back Challenge - This is a half marathon on Saturday and another half marathon on Sunday. I'll be doing this right off the bat in January. What a way to start the year off, huh? I've wanted to do this for a couple of years and never had the opportunity. This year there will be 8 of us from Team Run4TheKids doing the challenge. I'm excited! We have so much fun as a group! This statement describes my running friends perfectly:
"People who have an amazing sense of positivity are great to be around and train with. When you are around them, they make you want to be a better person. They just have that aura." - Amy Yoder Begley
2. Swim 1 mile with confidence - boy this one is a BIG one. It's going to be tough. I had worked up to swimming 1 mile in the pool before all the holidays hit and then slacked off. It will be like starting over but come January 1st it's on like donkey kong. :>) This is going to take a lot of hard work and dedication. I will need to swim during the cold months when no one goes to the pool. However, now that I've talked 3 of my teammates into also training for the Ironman, I won't be alone at the pool. 
3. Strength Train - I always start out the year gung ho on this and then around April slack off. Well, this year I'm going to have to stay focused! I'm having a bit of an issue with my knee right now (runners knee.. I won't go in details.. you can look it up if not familiar) along with my normal arthritis and sciatic nerve pain that is giving me fits. I firmly believe it's because I slacked off on strength training the last part of this year. Running takes a toll on your body. You need to make sure you are doing strength training along with core work to stay injury free. I recently brought a new DVD that I'm going to do 1X a week for 3 months and see if it helps. It's called "Iron Strength". Some people say that the magic number is 90 days (3 months) to see results. I guess I'll soon see. I also plan to attend our lunch classes here at work on Tuesday & Thursday. They've offered us a 30 minute toning class. I've been a couple of times recently to try it out and I must say it is tough! You wouldn't think so being that it's only 30 minutes, but this lady knows her stuff. 
4. Ragnar Trail Run - This will be way out of my comfort zone. It requires camping. LOL The race will be in April in Atlanta,GA. A couple of us from team Run4Thekids are doing it together. I'm not sure of all the details, but I think we basically run for like 24 hours straight by taking turns running different loops. The race starts on Friday and ends Saturday. I doubt there will be much sleeping. We will be in a TENT not a camper. So let me just say... Out of my comfort zone! ha I am looking forward to the laughs.
5. Track and visualize my training. My kids gave me a running calendar for Christmas. I plan to mark off every day that I workout whether it is running, biking, or swimming. I've got it hanging in my office on the wall in front of me so each day I will have that visual to keep me focused.
6. Read my Bible every day before I start my day. I really should have put this as #1 cause without this I'm nothing. I use to never make time regularly to read the Bible on a daily basis. I would think about it while at work and maybe stop and read my devotion calendar or something real quick, but until I really started setting down in a quite place each morning and reading my Bible 5-10 minutes before checking emails, Facebook, twitter or anything else, It really didn't make a difference in my life. Now I feel as if I'm closer to God. It gives me a sense of peace each day. I challenge you if you aren't already doing this...start now. It will make a difference. 
7. Well, 7 has always been my favorite number so here it is...... AUGUSTA IRONMAN 70.3 - This will be a HUGE goal for me! The "70.3" represents MILES. Yep! Miles! On September 25, 2016 I plan to do the Ironman 70.3 race in Augusta, GA. This is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, & 13.1 (half marathon) mile run. It will require a lot of training during the year to build up to be able to do these 3 things back to back on the same day. I will need to be READY. I will do a couple sprint TRIs before this race to help me prepare. These are shorter distances. It's going to be a challenge due to the swim. I feel confident in my biking and running but not so much in my swim. We will be swimming in the Savannah River. I can swim in a pool with no problem but panic in open water. I did one sprint TRI this year were I felt more at ease. I'm hoping that will continue in 2016. The one thing that I'm looking forward to is the fact that I've talked 3 of my girlfriends into doing this race with me! I'm super excited about that fact! Girls road trip soon! 
8. St. Jude! I plan to work hard all year long with team Run4TheKids in raising money for St. Jude. In 2014 we raised $28,000. In 2015, we raised $42,000! There is no limit to what we can do in 2016! I'm also excited that we are planning on adding Blair E. Batson to this fund raising. I pray for God to lead us. We will be meeting on January 17 to kick off the year and brain storm fundraising ideas.
9. Save for Disney 2017 - Dopey Challenge in 2017! Registration will open April, 2016 and the cost is normally close to $600 just to register! So I must SAVE. Two of my teammates plan to do this challenge along with some other peeps from the local area. I had always said if I had a friend to do it with that's when I would try to do it. It's 4 days of running. Day 1 - 5K, Day 2 - 10K, Day 3 - Half Marathon, Day 4 - Full Marathon... so yep that's the reason they call it the Dopey Challenge. But what better place to be dopey than Disney World? So if they register, I register and we do it together. :>)
10. Listen before speaking - Whoa..tough one. I'm really going to have to practice this with some people.
I have other small goals but I will not go into the details on those in this post. I wanted to use this post to specifically focus on my BIG goals.
So...It's time to FOCUS. Most of us runners understand there is NO quick fix! You must put in the time and train. So let's turn the impossible into the possible!
Each one of you will have different goals, different ideals, different priorities, and life situations. So my goals will not be your goals. However, I'm a firm believer in setting goals. After you've set some goals it is very important that you take one more step:
SAY THEM OUT LOUD
Tell someone your goals. When you verbalize them it makes them a part of you. When others know where you stand, you are held more accountable to your goals.
And let's not forget to Pray about our goals. Let God lead us.
May you have a Happy New Year!
Much Love,
D
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