This post is rated Sprinters, Olympians and Ironman.

Day #2 of our SMART goals analysis.

ARE YOUR GOALS MEASURABLE?

Do you have a plan for tracking your goals? We already established the importance of recording your goals. We also agreed that reviewing your goals often is important. Today, I want to talk about measuring your goals.

We’ve all heard the statement “what gets measured, matters.” Think about that for a moment as you visualize your goals. If your goals are nothing more than visions in your mind, chances are you will not accomplish them.

Let’s say your goal is to run a half marathon in the first week in May. First, lets record the race date and work backward. Depending on the exact race day, you have 6 to 8 weeks to prepare. Now we’re talking metrics! This may seem obvious, but we are talking measurables and the first is time.

Time allows us to plan and reminds us of the significance of each day. We expect to be at certain levels along the way so that we can feel confident on race day.

Some other things that we can measure as it relates to a predetermined goal on a specific day in the future…

Heart Rate Zones (do you know what your resting heart rate is? do you know your maximum heart rate? do you know your lactate threshold?)

Weekly distance (do you have a way to measure your mileage in each training run?)

Level of perceived exertion (how do you feel after each workout? write that down!)

MEASURING PROGRESS TOWARD YOUR GOALS WILL HELP YOU STAY ON TRACK AND WILL ALLOW YOU TO EXPERIENCE THE EXHILARATION OF ACHIEVEMENT!