When you think about running goals it's easy to focus on the outcome. Crossing that finish line, getting a new PB, hitting a previously-unreachable distance. Whatever the goal is, achieving it can become something of an obsession. And don't get me wrong, goals are great. Without a good goal it can be hard to find the motivation to go out on a dark winters morning, or find the energy to run on already-tired legs. Having that carrot of glory perpetually dangling in front of us can be a brilliant training tool. So what's all this about the process? Surely the process is nothing without the outcome?
I am unashamedly process-driven. That's not to say that I don't have goals and I have certainly been known to (ahem) 'fixate' on very specific targets, BUT they are always the bonus. The cherry on top of the training cake. That may sound bizarre - what's the point in going for a big goal if achieving it is somehow downgraded to a 'bonus'?
Yes, the goal is important, but the process is where you really grow. And that growth doesn't suddenly disappear if you don't hit your target.
Well...however hard you train and however well-prepared you are to go out and smash your goals, there will always be factors that are completely out of your control. You might pick up an injury or an illness just before race-day. The weather might be terrible (there's nothing like a gusty head-wind to ruin even the most determined attempts at a PB). You might just not be feeling it - sometimes it all comes together, sometimes it doesn't. If everything you've done has been geared to that one goal, missing it can be very hard to deal with, especially if your training has gone well. This is why not just seeing but also really believing in the overall value of the process is so important.
A good training plan should offer you so much more than the chance to achieve your chosen goal. Aside from the obvious physical improvements (increased strength, fitness, endurance etc) it gives you structure and encourages you to focus on good nutrition and better sleep. It will probably involve running in new places, maybe even with different people as you find others willing to accompany you on your long run or interval session. It makes you prioritise something that is important to you - finding that time to invest in yourself. Ultimately, it gives you the opportunity to really get to find out what you're capable of, which in the majority of cases is "more than I thought". Increased confidence, self-belief, inner-strength...the list really does go on. And this is ALL before you get to the start line of the race. So yes, the goal is important, but the process is where you really grow. And that growth doesn't suddenly disappear if you don't hit your target. It doesn't know that you missed your PB by 5 seconds. This is why, for me, that goal is always the cherry on top. The process is worth so much more to me than the medal.
Truly believing in the value of the process is liberating.
A few years ago I had been training for months for a 50 mile race - my first ever ultramarathon. I poured my heart and soul into it but, just 4 weeks before the race, I picked up an injury. I did everything I could to battle through it but in the end it was too much and I was forced to DNF at 35 miles. If you'd told me at the beginning of that year that this would be the eventual outcome, I would have been absolutely devastated. But by the time the race came around I realised that the training had already given me more than I could ever have hoped for, and none of that was going to be affected by the outcome of the race. What could have felt like a disastrous scenario (starting a 50 mile race with a dodgy hamstring...not recommended!) actually felt surprisingly ok. There were no tears, no drama, no regrets - just a genuine and deep appreciation of everything I had gained from the attempt. And, of course, I took everything I'd learned from it to go back stronger the following year.
Truly believing in the value of the process is liberating. You get to celebrate all the small gains and all the improvements on the way, not just in your running but in yourself. And when you really start to enjoy the process, the outcomes start to look after themselves...
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