Why I’m Winning and You Are Failing…

Do you have goals? Of course you have goals, and so do I. Despite how public you make them or how often you think about them we all have goals. What separates people is the question of achieving those goals. Right now I’m training towards running a 1/2 marathon on August 8th. This will be about 10 miles longer than any run I have run in at least 8 years and probably (though I can’t be sure) the longest run of my life. Lets outline some of the principles that play the BIG roles in your success or failure at acheiving your goals.

1. Making it public: You will never achive anything great or big without becoming accountable to all those around you. Since my post on March 15 I have made it quite clear and public what I intended to do in running this 1/2 marathon. Not only do all of my blog readers and online friends know about it but I’ve already committed local friends and family to be present physically to chear me on.
2. Recruit a support team. You can’t do it alone. My wonderful wife Ami is also running everyday even though she doesn’t intend to run the 1/2 marathon and I did convince my oldest brother to run the 1/2 with me. As silly as it sounds my dog is also now counting on me to get out and run every day to satisfy her need for exercise. I have a support team and to make it all the more strong I have recruited someone to join me in my goal.
3. Keep track of your progress. Find a system to measure your progress. Some things can be done automatically and other goals will have to be measured manually. As for my running I use a GPS enabled Android (G1) phone with the buddyrunner app to keep track of my progress.
4. Publish your progress. Nobody will be as passionate about your goal as you are but the more you talk about it and keep everyone informed the more accountable you will be and the more people that will flock to you. Every time I go for a run my phone automatically uploads my run to an online dashboard at http://www.buddyrunner.com/jacob where it can be viewed publicly. It also automatically updates my status on facebook, twitter, and freindfeed with my latest run stats and a link to my online dashboard. (Thank you to the buddy runner team for making my accountability so automatic.
5. Plan on it being difficult and encountering barriers to your success. Anything worth acheiving won’t be easy to acheive. Something will get in the way. Plan on it and be ready when it comes. Recent injuries have threatened to slow my progress but with the help of my friend Erskien Lenier I have continued plowing through.
6. Celebrate your success. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do (still have some time to plan) but on August 8th I’m going to have to have a party or something seriously AWESOME to celebrate.
7. Set a new goal and follow the pattern again. Life is about extending yourself and becoming more. Don’t stop moving forward!

And to any other runners out there who might be local I encourage you to consider the Provo River 1/2 marathon as a noble goal. There is still plenty of time to get in shape!