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When I started running a few years ago, I set some initial goals to keep me motivated. Some of them were relatively easy to get (10k at a pace faster than 8:00 per mile), and some of them have been particularly challenging (I have gotten within about 10 seconds of my "5k at a pace faster than 7:00 per mile" goal, but can't seem to close the deal). One goal that vexed me for a while was running a sub-6:00 mile. I just couldn't quite seem to get it done. And then I had a breakthrough that helped me to blow past my goal by over 5 seconds. That felt really good for a couple of reasons. First, it's nice to achieve a challenging goal and it felt good to cross it off my list and see some results from all the hard work I had been putting in. Second, I had already tried and failed to run a six-minute mile twice—both of my previous attempts were about 6:11—and that was really frustrating. I had been so close yet I felt so far away and it really stings to be totally exhausted without much to show for it. But not this time! This time I got it done. |