Part II: Leadman Goal Setting
The clock is ticking and moving fast towards Leadville, down to 7-months now. Last month I talked about having a ‘Why’ constructed through values as being one way that I orient myself on the journey. Values, provide a bearing to the direction you want to go. Goals on the other hand are the values in action. They are the waypoints to the journey.
Goal Setting
Goals allow us to be clear on the direction you are moving towards, they provide us with a vision of the final product, and identify the smaller steps in between. They allow us to clarify what the markers are so we know we are moving towards a specific target.
If I don’t have specific goals then my training and racing is unfocused and could be messy and unproductive.
The S.M.A.R.T. goal strategy has been around for a long time and many people are familiar with it. If you’re not, follow along - I am adding a twist and a little WOOP to it that I find helpful.
Traditionally S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound.
Here’s the twist I use and you may have seen this coming- integrate your values and meaning into the goals.
Specific - What is the specific thing that you want to achieve?
Meaningful - and Motivated by Values - Is this meaningful and motivated by values?
Adaptive -Is this adaptive to my life in someway? What am I getting out of it?
Realistic - Is this realistic? Can I really achieve this? (while we may have some self-doubt, that’s different than picking a goal that is unrealistic, like for example me running a 2:10 marathon this year, as a 3:13 marathoner - probably not realistic).
Time-Bound - What is the time frame I will be getting this done in?
I have also found WOOP to be another fantastic tool to develop and plan around goals. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s worth checking out at WOOP my life.
WOOP stands for -
Wish - What is the most important wish or concern in the valued domain that is challenging and still attainable?
Outcome - What would be the best outcome? Attaining it how would it make you feel? Take the time to imagine it in detail, write it down, journal with it.
Obstacles - What obstacles within you that hold you back? What’s your main inner obstacle? What are some external obstacles?
Plan- Make a plan to achieve this wish and to overcome that obstacles - name one action you would take.
While I have multiple goals for the Leadman series I am going to break down one particular one as an example:
1) What is it that specifically I wish to achieve, what is the outcome I want and is that realistic and attainable?
Specifically I wish to finish the entire race series under the cut-offs. Is it attainable - of course it is! I’ve nailed all the cut-offs in the past except for the 100 bike and here I am looking at 16-minutes (I’ve finished the runs well within the cut-offs in the past ) 16-minutes is 9.32 seconds a mile…or about 1.4 minutes for every hour I am out on the course…given that I believe it is realistic and attainable.
2) Is it Meaningful? What values are present?
What would it mean to finish? Whew… that I solved a hard problem through passion and perseverance, learned from my mistakes and grew! It provides challenge, opportunity to be in nature or the outdoors, friendship, competition, fun, and even time spent with family.
3) How would it make me feel to accomplish this?
I spend time trying to imagine this feeling, I savor it. the sweet rush of reaching the mountain top, a personal demonstration that while it may take time - you can achieve hard things. But also, and importantly the fun, euphoria I’ll have a long the way. The excitement of pushing my body, feeling the wind, and the burn in my legs and lungs.
4) Is this adaptive in some way?
It gets me outside, it’s a personal experience that I grow from, it’s physically active and if I do it right - healthy and hopefully I am also inspiring others!
5) Is it timely?
Seven months to the 100 mile races. Check. On the calendar. Plenty of time to train.
6) Identify the obstacles in the way of this happening
This is the part where you really have to brainstorm thinking of all the potential obstacles in addition to the ones that you are aware of. For example, in 2019 we know I finished the bike race 16-minutes past the cut-off. Reviewing my training - likely technical skill (external) and confidence (internal) amounted for a good portion of those 16-minutes… fitness, and strength were the other likely barriers. Each year I’ve gotten progressively better so we know I am headed in the right direction. What limits me to improving on these three areas? In the past I did not get out for a lot of technical rides. I also could have made longer sweet spot rides a priority.
While that provides a very general picture - you need to go as deep as possible in identifying the obstacles, really brainstorm - For example - why didn’t I get a lot of technical riding in? What can get in the way of technical riding? Driving to the trail or bike park was the biggest hassle, What gets in the way of a three hour sweet spot ride? Etc etc. COVID may be an obstacle, especially if trails are crowded. Weather may create obstacles. Dig into it to narrow down the possibilities.
7) Plan, plan, plan for the possible obstacles.
Now I know what the obstacles are I need to create a plan to over come them. Let’s take the technical rides problem. One, scheduling them on the calendar, two because I have trouble getting out the door and to the trailhead - put my gear in the car and be prepared to leave right afterwork or plan on riding just before work during the summer time. Scheduling time to ride with friends could be key because the social component will hold some accountability and help to increase technical skill…
Outcome goals which I have described here are just part of the picture. Ultimately races are finished not by wishes but by the smaller parts - process and performance goals are where the rubber meets the road. Additionally, breaking down the goals into smaller intermediate ones that fit my block of training, and ones for the day and for the ride/run I am in are critical. I will talk about those in next weeks discussion.
In the mean time if you have questions - don’t hesitate to email me, if you like what you read, feel free to share! I am currently accepting new referrals for individual performance and counseling sessions. See contact to reach me!
Thank You