Goals

"Let's capture our dreams and make them real!"

Without goals, we would be directionless and training has no purpose.  If we are clear in our mind, we can set goals.  

We will then need an overall plan and to consider how we will train.  This leads to identifying the activities needed along the way and breaking the plan down into cycles and steps.

When we do this, all training will contribute in some way to the desired outcome.  It will plot a journey to our finish line.  The journey may and should change along the way, life happens, but the goal will often remain the same.

The finish line is simply measuring our achievement against whatever goals we initially set, regardless of any success.  It is sometimes wise to set A, B and C goals.  We can then enjoy a measure of success, in spite of differing outcomes.

Performance or Personal?

Goals are not just performance, whether time or distance.  Your goals should include other facets of your life.  They could be spiritual, pursuit of contentment, maintenance of general fitness, social.  In fact anything really, but to be a considered a goal, it must be...

S.M.A.R.T.

• Specific - Ensure you are clear what is trying to be achieved.  Why do you want this?  Who is it for?  What does success look like?

• Measurable - A clear metric or description of success.

• Attainable - Is this goal right for me?  A goal can be challenging and scary, however it should feel within our grasp.  Remember, the training is our pathway to get to success - a goal at the outset will be definition be unattainable.  It follows that to a certain degree invoke a sense of trepidation.  This is normal.

• Relevant - Is what we are proposing contributing to some great dream or plan in our lives?  Does the goal reinforce other goals or create a stepping stone for the next phase?

• Timebound - Setting a point in time, a deadline no less, or having one imposed is natural and important.  The finish time, along with now, our start time creates a defined time period.  The time period then becomes the blank canvas that we can create our plan into.

Sometimes we may find we have conflicting goals.  It may be obvious this has happened, but equally it may become apparent when we start to form our training plan.  If the plan does not come together well and does not 'fit' or feels 'forced', then this might be a sign of conflicting goals.

Order your goals strictly in priority order - then make the hard choices and focus on the goals which rise to the top of your list of priorities.

Periodicity

To give form to our training plan, it is often recommended to break it down into cycles.  This gives both the mind and body a break from stress and monotony.  A typical way of breaking it down is as follows...

• Macro - A training block.  Might last 8 - 16 weeks or so and is often geared towards a specific event or A-goal.  It's said that to form a good habit at something new takes around 10 weeks.  After the block - a period of reflection, mental and physical relaxation is called for - recharge - you earned it!

• Meso - This might be perhaps around 4 weeks in length.  It allows for say 3 weeks of hard effort of both mental and physical training with a week of less intense training to help recover, pause and review.  The easier week is often a great time for a holiday, more socialising or a mini taper for a mid-block 'tester' event.

• Micro - A typical 7 day cycle, more or less.  This short cycle can have a more or less clear repeatable structure, where we are now identifying the specific training to balance workouts, the stimulus, against recovery, to absorb and get fitter.

Micro

The micro cycle is the foundation of training.  It is where structure helps accountability.  The feedback loop is tight and we must plan carefully and then adapt as we go along.  The idea is to balance workouts to recovery.

• a strong and repeatable workout stimulus, usually 2-3 times a week of varying intensity and duration.  It causes acute stress to the body and mind and is generally uncomfortable.

• recovery to allow for over-compensation - the body rebuilds and mind reshapes to prepare not just for the same stress in future, but increased stress.

Workout

We are going to focus on running workout activities.  Here are some ideas:

Speed

• Simple intervals - For example 200m, 400m then 60-90 seconds rest, repeated up to 20 times

• Long intervals - 800m, 1km, 1mile, 2km with longer rest, repeated.

• Long then short - maybe 2 or 3 long intervals followed by more shorter intervals

• Pyramid / inverted pyramid - getting longer, then shorter length intervals, or starting longer and getting shorter, before longer again.

Remember, the shorter the interval, the faster the pace and shorter rest period.

Endurance

• Sandwich - longer runs with a period of faster work in the middle

• Steady state - long, relatively high intensity

• VO2 max - maximum aerobic effort, possibly a race or time trial setting

• Long intervals - 3km to 5km with slower speed recovery running around the same distance.

Strength

• Lower body weights - low reps, higher weight - calf raises, squats, lunges, single leg splits - so many options!

• Hill reps - short explosive may 8 - 15 seconds on a medium gradient

• Strides - start slow, build to a sprint over 15 - 20 seconds

The commonality of all these activities is they stress the muscles, aerobic system and mind to beyond normal experience.

Recovery

Examples of recovery:

• Sleep - the single most effective recovery technique, mental restoration

• Nutrition and hydration - carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins including lots or iron, water with salts, avoiding cramps

• Rest - perusing other activities for distraction, mental relief

• Walking - keeping joints mobile, increasing blood flow, giving space to think

• Pilates, yoga - helping joint mobility and increasing blood flow, mental calm

• Napping - sleep, but in the daytime, some may enjoy meditation

• Running - keeping an easy relaxed posture, de-powered if you will.  Increases blood flow, thinking time, mobility

Key to all these activities is to supply yourself with nutrients.  Then give the body and mind time and absorb the nutrients and rebuild.  Aiding this is keeping mobile, increasing blood flow, which carries the nutrients to affected areas.

So why easy running?  Why not HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and nothing else.  In truth just doing HIIT alone will indeed yield quick and tangible benefits.  In the long term, however, we need to elevate the minimum plateaux.  It's easier to climb any mountain from starting half way up.

If we run 2-3 times a week, not as a workout, but so called recovery run, we will raise the plateaux over time.  This is often called the aerobic base.  It allows us to perform at a higher level with minimal increase in exertion and almost no stress.  

The recovery run is also conditioning the body.  It allows us to train for longer and at a higher level, again with minimal exertion and stress. 

Effective Training

To train effectively, you need to try your best to be:

• Accountable

• Objective

• Adaptable

• Consistent

You could either do this yourself, in other words, self-coached.  You may find it easier to train with others, for example a running club.  You might even have a dedicated coach or follow a training plan provided by an expert or platform.

Whichever you choose, train with a coaching mindset:

• What is the plan?

• Did I motivate myself, was I inspired and did I inspire others?

• When challenges occur, did we work to overcome?

• Should the plan change?  

• Have we celebrated success?

Copyright 2025 Graham Parkins