Stop Shooting Down Goals!

Sunday, February 05, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning!

Thankfully today is the start of a new week. Last week I pretty much fell off the wagon both physically and diet wise. I can certainly make a few excuses and even rationalize some, but the reality is, I did not put a high priority on diet or working out. Being honest, I have really struggled for a few months now with those things that were always a strict habit in my life. Certainly, I am in decent shape, yet it has been a challenge for me day after day in getting myself moving. Thankfully, I have eaten much smarter as well, but then I hit a few days stretch that shows no restraint. Today was a typical of my struggles, I left out for a run and quickly felt physically tired and zero motivation to push through. The run turned into a much shorter than planned and capped a week of much less than 10 miles! Not much better with my strength training, as I got half-way through one strength training session this past week. Safe to say: I sucked this past week!

Do not take my admission wrong, in that I am looking for some validation that it was okay to have a bad week. No, I just hate leading people to think that I struggle any less than they do. We all have lots of reasons that our training or diet fall to crap in a given week, but letting a bad week become multiple weeks is how we sink our overall motivation. A new week and a fresh slate allow for me to put the previous week behind me and get back to daily victories. Today is what I have some control over and letting yesterday linger will only serve to undermine that which I value.

Having goals are a great way to keep us focused and on a desired path. Often as coaches we hear someone’s goals and we are instantly thinking internally: “Unrealistic”. We then try to find a gentle way of convincing that runner that they need to lower the goal or even not even try. While our intentions are good, I have come to look at this matter differently. Last week I mentioned that we had a couple of people seeking coaching for ultra-type running goals. I was less than enthused with some of the initial details we received and so I was slow to respond. One of the individuals was persistent and so I crafted an email explaining that I was hesitant to work with her as I was concerned with her goals. However, I said I was willing to work with her if she agreed to training that maintained healthy running as a priority. She quickly responded with her appreciation for my honesty and asked if we could talk over the phone. I agreed and we set up a general time to chat.

The phone conversation turned out to be the most delightful chat and as we progressed through it, I found myself now hoping to work with this young woman. Total 180 change in my thinking and not because I felt she was prepared any better than she indicated on her previous communications, but more because it was obvious that her goals, while steep, are her goals. Instead of having the obligatory dialog, I listened and heard the passion and desire in her words and I now wanted to help her. Helping is exactly why we have NFLR, and while based on experience we might be able to determine “unrealistic”, I believe we must allow for those seek our help, to get not only our help, but our complete devotion to their goals. Does that mean we allow for anything other than healthy training? Absolutely not! Training needs always to consider the healthy and continued running of the runner, but that does not mean we should not immediately discount their goals. NFLR training process is very science based and we have measures that help us target nearly all goals and though the results have a lot of variables tied to them, there are very few instances that we can’t begin with most goals.

Our phone conversation progressed well and this individual was ready to sign on with NFLR, but she asked me if I felt she should get cleared from her PT, for the Plantar Fasciitis that she had been experiencing. From a business prospective, I wanted to close the deal, however from a coaching prospective, I told her that I would like her cleared before we move forward. I have no doubt when she will get back to us when the PF is good to go. Her goals are lofty, but working with her will be a lot of fun as well as challenging.

Taking a different approach or mindset toward runners that have goals that might seem unrealistic, will help NFLR make a difference, whether the ultimate goal is achieved or not. Our very personal training plans will always have the goal in mind, but only if it can be done healthy. Runners will ultimately decide if they can achieve the goal. Deciding for them before they even start just does not make sense.

Time to get myself ready for church. Have a great Sunday and enjoy the Super Bowl!

God Bless!

Mike