Goals and the Journey
Nov 7, 2021, was the first sub-freezing run of the season at 28°F. In contrast, a year to the day, the thermometer read 74°F as I squeezed in a 7 km lunchtime run. Twelve months ago, I was closing in on a goal of 2,021 km for 2021, which I reached in mid-December. This year, I will do about 40% of that - somewhere north of 825 km, which is about my average for the last six years.
My 2022 goal was to get back into a balance between running, strength training, and HIIT, so I haven't been paying close attention to my total distance. I did check today and realized that I am within striking distance of 5,000 km since I started keeping track. Completing the remaining 233 km by the end of the year is doable. That is now my goal.
Doing so will finish my current Nike Run Club level (2,500 km - 5000 km). The next level runs from 5,000 km to 15,000 km. 15,000 seems like a BIG number, but so did 5,000 once upon a time. In the end, though, they are all just numbers.
My biggest realization from completing the 2,021 km in 2021 was that the triumph was not in reaching the number. Once you attain a goal, there is always a bigger one beyond it, whatever the endeavor. The true victory was showing up day in, day out on the journey to achieving the goal.
Originally published on LinkedIn.