Happy New Year...

You made it through 2009. Congratulations! It was no small fete, was it? Wasn't for me. What a year. I moved after being in the same place for more than seven years, moved my son to Washington, D.C., to attend college, began a new business endeavor, re-evaluated my goals as an athlete as I graduated to a new age group and experienced a lot of change in all areas of my life. It was a challenging year in many ways but necessary to lay the groundwork of new and exciting things I know are heading my way in 2010.
 
The New Year is the time many of us take stock and decide what we'd like to do differently in the coming year.
 
As a coach and trainer, I find that those who are most successful in this are the ones who make decisions or resolutions that are manageable. If these ideas are too large or require change that is too drastic, they might stick with it for a month. Maybe two but then, things usually fall apart.
 
So what is the best way to look at the coming year and decide what you'd like to do? And once those decisions are made, how do you do it?
 
I am going to outline a few of my resolutions here for you and then tell you why I made them and how I plan to follow up.
 
Resolution #1:
Create more success in the new arm of my business. During the economic slowdown of the last 18 months, things with my coaching and training business obviously slowed down. These are the kinds of services that are considered luxuries and non-essentials and get cut from the budget early, even though in my view, keeping your health and fitness in crisis is the bedrock of one's strength. Anyway, I knew I wanted and needed to expand the way I make money, especially with a kid in college. For years I had been considering taking my messages of health, wellness, fitness and healthy lifestyle into larger arenas in an effort to do two things: 1) get the message to more people in a given time frame and 2) make more money for myself and my family.

While I have done many, many speaking engagements and clinics in all kinds of arenas from schools and non-profits to corporate America, this was the first time I decided to target that larger audience with a new kind of focus. With the help of a former client who believes in the message, I put together my materials and launched this new wing of my business in '09. Things have gone well. I am pleased as are the clients we have spoken to.
 
So how do I execute my resolution to create even greater success? I have to have a plan, which I do, complete with specifics and timelines. When we decide to tackle a resolution, the more specific we can be with what we are trying to accomplish, the more specific the plan can be for that execution. For example, I have a list of companies, three in particular, where I want to bring the workshop. It is my belief that once I am in the door at these three places, it will help to not only create buzz for my message but prove to other clients the value of the investment, as these three are large and prestigious corporations that carry cache. I have now taught my seminar at one of them, with great feedback/ I have contacts at the other two and a specific plan and timeline to get in the door. I keep the list of these three places on my desk so I can see them daily and be clear on the goal.
 
Being specific is a huge part of making change and enacting plans.
 
Resolution #2:
Get my speed back. Due to the crazy nature of 2008 and 2009, I found I wasn't as focused on my own athletic training. I didn't have time to race and train with the consistency I had done so, for more than a decade. My attention was required elsewhere and I allowed that shift of focus so I could handle the present life changes. Also, I was without a coach during this time. While it was a conscious decision to work without a coach for this period of time, I knew it would affect my ability to train at the level I was used to. But again, that was the plan, so I gave myself permission to train as I could. I ran plenty of miles. I just didn't race as often nor was I on the track and hitting the intensity. I set a few goals, the primary one being the completion of a three-day, ultramarathon trail stage race last September: 10k Fri night, 25k Saturday morning, 50K Sunday morning. It was a very challenging and difficult race. I loved the experience as well as the extra miles I did for the training. I was able to win it but it was a different kind of work than I had done previously. And I knew I had slowed down. This was confirmed when I ran my first 5k of the year in October and found my time was the slowest it had been in more than eight years. Part of that was the hills of the course and the recovery process from the ultra. But more of it had to do with the lack of racing and high intensity training I had left behind.
 
Entering a new age group this year, I decided it was the perfect time to get my speed back. I drew up a chart of distances, mile through the 50k, which are the distance I generally race over the course of a year. In one column I placed my present time. Then I made three columns next to that. Goal A, Goal B and Goal C. Goal A is the time goal I know is reasonable to reach in a manageable amount of time with proper training. Goal B is a goal I'd like to hit later in the year that would require more time and training. And Goal C is the time goal most challenging but still possible to reach.

Then I put together a schedule of goal races, races I usually do each year and what I'd like to run at these races. But again, making the time goals I assign reasonable and possible. The race schedule has to reflect a sensible approach to goals and time. I was happy with what I had put down.
 
The final step was to find a coach that could help me get to my goals and create an accountability I know I need as I move through the goals I have set for myself. This piece is key for me. Being the scheduler and planner for so many other people, I find when it comes to planning and scheduling for myself, I don't want to do the thinking. It helps me to have someone to be accountable to, who send me schedules regardless of what I may or may not feel like doing that week, and expects me to complete the work. Then I don't have to think and plan for me as I do for so many others. I know from experience, I have a much greater chance of reaching my goal of getting my speed back, if I have that set of eyes and the additional accountability. So with a coach in place, I started the program.
 
But the point here is have a reasonable plan and find support. Don't overwhelm yourself with goals that feel unreachable or require too much change at once.
 
And if need be, sign on someone to help you have that accountability. This can be a coach or a therapist or a friend or a running partner... anyone who fits the bill of not only creating the accountability but providing support through the process. You need to have that available.

There are going to be times you fall off the path. Having someone who is in involved in the process with you, can help you get back up without the emotional reprimand we can often give ourselves, which can result in quitting the work.
 
Resolution #3:
Spend more time on my mountain bike. My guy is a mountain biker and road rider who got me hooked on mountain biking in 2008. I started in July of that year, did my first race in September and decided I wanted to spend some time in 2009 really working on that skill. Well with all the moving and change, I had little time to ride in 2009. And I missed it. The race I wanted to do had to come and go because I just didn't have the time to be out on my bike for the hours required for me to be ready for the race as well as be ready for that ultra. I had to pick and choose and the mountain biking fell down the list.
 
But what I missed, even more than the training on the mountain bike, was the environment that the mountain biking provided for me. I loved being out on the trails for hours, sometimes most of a day and when life got too busy for me to do that, I truly missed that time in nature. I was training for the ultra but only got to trail run once a week or so and the rest of my miles had to be executed in the most convenient way possible, which usually meant I was on the roads, with little or no natural beauty and around me. I missed it terribly.
 
Therefore I have promised myself my butt will spend more time on the saddle of my mountain bike this year. I have chosen two races to do which will help me structure the time to ride, knowing when I really have to be ready to compete. This goal also helps my running goals. I find when I am riding my mountain bike, my running benefits.
 
Living where I do, the weather really affects how much time I can be on the trails. We had a wet year last year which definitely limited the time I could ride. But my own schedule was the bigger issue. So this year, I have promised myself, weather permitting, that I will ride a certain number of times in the early season so I can get my confidence back. Once that is present, then getting out and riding as often as I can gets easier. For me, being new to the sport, I find I cannot properly ride and enjoy myself when too much time passes between rides. Because then it's like starting over again for the first hour of every ride as I get used to it again, relax and regain my speed and confidence. I need continuity in my rides in order to do that. And that is what I have committed to. If I have that continuity, the rest will take care of itself.
 
I find that in many ways, my resolutions complement one another and work to support the other. If I am healthy in mind, body and spirit which both the running and the mountain biking help tremendously, I am more effective at my job.
 
Plus finding how much I loved the trail running at the stage race last year, I want to do some additional xterra this year, combining the the mountain biking and trail running so that I have gained another arena in which I can compete and have new experiences.
 
Resolutions can often feel punitive or like "have to's." Try to include things on the list that feed your soul, like being out in nature. Even if there are other benefits to the resolution, make sure at least a few include things you want to do strictly for your own happiness and pleasure. Mountain biking falls into this category for me.
 
Let's review a few guidelines with regard to making and executing resolutions.
 
Keep them reasonable and attainable. Don't bite off more than you can chew or you set yourself up to quit. Set up a progression of reasonable goals. If you reach one, move on to the next level. Keep them doable and realistic.
 
Be specific. The more specific you are, the easier it is to make a real plan that is concise and doable. You need to know exactly what you are trying to accomplish in order to work backwards from the goal and devise a plan that includes real details that get you, step by step, toward your goal.
 
Get support. Put someone in place who is there to lend an ear, a hand or a shoulder for you to lean on. It is too easy to fall off the horse and talk yourself out of getting back on.
 
Be positive. Include things on your list that feed your soul, as they will become a source of strength for you to use toward your other goals and resolutions. Expect more of yourself and don't give yourself an out when you know you can stay on track.
 
Finally, remember commitment is nothing more than a single thought you think every day and follow up on with simple action. We love to tell ourselves how hard something is going to be, how we have always done things a certain way and change is difficult if not impossible.
 
Empower yourself in this process by steering clear of negative thoughts that you generate. Stop them in mid-sentence and replace them with images of you achieving your goal or with positive self-encouragement. Don't talk yourself out of things that you know you can do. Stay positive and on your own side.
 
The payoff of change is always worth whatever it took to get there. Make 2010 a year that makes you happy and proud of yourself as you challenge old thoughts and habits and create positive change in your life.
 
Happy New Year!
 
Coach Lisa M.