It is all well and good talking about a theory and going by what others have written but I want to put it to the test with my own challenge. Im my article “Realising dreams and setting goals” I discuss a method used with the GB cycling team before their wins in the 2012 Olympics.
In the last few years I have completed 14 marathons, all of them being around the 4 hour mark. It wasn’t until my 9th marathon that I squeezed just under 4 hours! My personal best is just over 3 hours 47 minutes. A dream for me is to run a marathon under 3 hours 30. I am running the Vienna City Marathon on 12 April 2015… I have my dream and a date to aim for.
The plan
In order to realise this dream I have to have a plan. I have to break down the next few weeks into manageable chunks and work to achieve the smaller goals.
| Phase | Start date | End date | Key milestones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finding my base | 10 November 2014 | 23 November 2014 | |
| Phase 1 | 24th November 2014 | 4 January 2015 | |
| Phase 2 | 5 January 2015 | 8 February 2015 | |
| Phase 3 | 9 February 2015 | 15 March 2015 | Barcelona Marathon |
| Phase 4 | 16 March 2015 | 12 April 2015 | Vienna City Marathon |
Foundations stones
These are the variables that can easily be monitored and measured against where you want to be.
- Average speed
- Maximum speed
- Km ran each week
- body fat
- Conditioning
At the beginning of each chunk I will decide which of the foundation stones are maintenance goals and which are target goals. At the end of each chunk I will run an audit to see if I have reached the targets and stayed on track with the maintenance goals.
To start, the first two weeks will be establishing where I am with the foundation stones, a starting point on which to improve.
My progression (link not yet available)
Outcomes (link not yet available)