• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Training Plans
  • Training Guides
  • Books
Alp Fitness logo

Alp Fitness

Alpine Endurance Training

Strava   TrainingPeaks   Instagram   YouTube

Begin it Now

Adam Hodges | January 1, 2013

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

These lines, often attributed to Goethe, seem particularly appropriate as the calendar turns the page into the New Year. If you have had your sights set on a dream you have never quite been able to act upon, heed the call. Begin it. Begin it now.

Here are three key steps to help you put flesh on that ambition:

1. Set a Goal

Begin It

Put your goal down in writing, using the SMART mnemonic as a guide. This is the first step to making your dream a reality. Namely, goals should be specific, measurable, challenging yet realistically attainable, relevant to the current point and time of your life, and time-bound. Then share the goal with others, and enlist their support.

2. Create a Plan

Once you have given your goal some materiality by writing it down, next you need to create a concrete plan to take you from here to there.

3. Monitor Your Progress and Adjust Your Course

A goal and a plan require monitoring to keep you on the right path. Keep track of your training using a training log. Periodically schedule benchmark workouts to test your fitness and assess your progress. Use feedback along the way to make adjustments as needed to stay on target. Keep in mind that the path from a goal’s inception to fruition is rarely a straight, smooth line.

Happy New Year, and train smart!

Related:

GoalsAfter Setting Your Goals, Now What? The ABCs of Prioritizing Races and Setting Race Goals Rethink Traditional Assumptions When Choosing Running Shoes Mental Skills Training: Keeping Your Head in the Game GoalsHealthy Habits for the New Year

Filed Under: Mental Skills Tagged With: Goals, Life, Mind, Run

About Adam Hodges

Adam Hodges is a mountain endurance athlete and coach with credentials from the United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy (UESCA), USA Triathlon (USAT), and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). He currently coaches runners, ultrarunners, and triathletes, and has also coached high school cross country/track and masters swimming. As a USAT All-American triathlete during the 1990s, he competed in the ITU World Triathlon Championships, the ITU World Duathlon Championships, and the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. As a masters runner, he won a series title in the XTERRA SoCal Trail Run Series. His current pursuits include mountain running, ultrarunning, skimo, and cross-country skiing. Check out his training plans and courses to help you prepare for your next adventure.

Primary Sidebar

Join the Alp Fitness Strava Club!

One Percent for the Planet Business Member logo

InsideTracker logo

Headspace logo

Colorado Triathlete

Footer

Alp Fitness
Training Plans | Courses | Books

Calculators | Glossary | Newsletter

Search by Category

Race Calendars

Ultra-Running | Running | Cross Country Skiing | SkiMo | Triathlon | XTERRA | IRONMAN | UTMB World Series
Alp Multisport Publications
About | Contact

Terms of Use | Ads | Privacy Policy

Alp Multisport LLC
Boulder, Colorado
© 2009–2023


One Percent for the Planet Business Member logo