I Have To Have a Goal

by Kristi Willis

When I started traveling for work, I let my exercise program fall to the wayside, so this year I decided that increasing my fitness level was a major goal. Like a good “edger,” I kicked off this goal by creating a project using our system and breaking it down into doable tasks.

I joined the gym, created an exercise plan and started tracking my progress. And, little by little I started to feel stronger. Then I got sick. The end of February rolled around and I caught the flu I had been avoiding for months and, sure enough, my exercise program fell to the side again.

When I recovered, I started working out again, but something was missing. I wasn’t motivated the way I was before. I needed something to work toward; something that would keep me from skipping a workout just because I was a little tired that day.

A few years ago, I completed the Danskin triathlon. Let me be clear that I’m not an uber-athlete. I’m quickly heading to middle age and, while I exercise, I’m only in moderate shape. I did the Danskin the first time with my sister so that we had a goal to work toward and the goal was to finish, which I did.

I decided it was time to revisit that success. I recruited a friend to do the Danskin Triathlon as a relay with me - I did two of the three legs - and voila, I was back on track. Each week when I looked at my exercise plan, I had certain benchmarks I had to reach because if I didn’t, it wasn’t going to be pretty on race day.

It’s amazing what having a due date and a pre-paid registration fee did to my motivation. Race day came and our team did well. I met my goal for the two legs of the race and I now was chomping at the bit to do a whole race by myself again.

After the race, several of my friends and I celebrated our success over enchiladas (we’d earned it after all). As we reviewed the race we just finished, we started talking about the next race. I asked if it was too soon to pick another race and one of my friends said, “Not for me. I have to have a goal. I need another date to work toward.”

As the words came out of her mouth, I realized I did as well. Without a specific benchmark to reach, it was too easy for me to push it off until tomorrow or not work as hard. So, race two is right around the corner and I have significantly increased my fitness level again and am ready to do all three legs of the race. If all goes well, race three will be at the end of August – a race that is a little longer and a little harder so I stretch myself a little more.