Recently, as I was reviewing my training records, it occurred to me that for more than a decade I had been training at a high level of intensity and had never voluntarily taken a break. From January 1970 through December 1981 I averaged 120 miles of running per week. That works out to 17 miles per day for more than a decade and this figure includes time off for injuries.
What was most interesting to me was that I cannot recall ever having tired of the regimen. I always looked forward to the training and still do. What was my motivation? Why, for example, did I head out for my second 10 miles run that summer day in Las Vegas when the temperature was 115 degrees? Why do I always go for a 10 mile run at 10,000 feet after a full day of skiing in the New Mexico Rockies? The answer must be in the way I form and monitor my goals.
I think the main point to remember is that these goals have not stayed constant (along with my training program, they are always in flux). Through the summer of 1972 my goal was to make the Olympic team and run will in Munich. I was willing to subsist on little and had few responsibilities. In running I had discovered something I happened to enjoy and at which I could possibly excel. I also loved the travel that comes with qualifying for an American team.
The kind of goal I call running goal is different from the training goal, that everyday desire to get faster and better. It is more the long-range reward you feel will be yours if you can maintain constant training. Wanting to go to the Olympics got me out the door every day. Once I was out there, I got to work meeting my training goals - for example, those 6 x 800's in 2:05. Naturally, success at training and competition provides added motivation but success is not always there so more long-range motivation is needed.
After the Munich Olympics, my long-range goal changed, and, in a way, things became easier for me. I no longer had to rationalize to myself why I ran and I did not need to explain it to other people. Winning the gold medal had legitimized my lifestyle. It was suddenly okay to be a runner.
My long-term goal then became to improve on my times and win other major marathons. It became evident to me that meeting a major goal did not make me less enthusiastic to pursue others.
The object is to gradually improve over time. When I was 15, I wanted to win my prep school league championship. When I was 22, I wanted to make the Olympic team. At age 33, going on 34, I want to run 2:08 for a marathon.
Always make the goal a realistic and attainable one and gear your training accordingly. The day-to-day training goal should always be attainable. When I do interval training, I always plan a workout I know I can complete. For example, when I do 400's I might start out planning to do 12 in 64 seconds with a 400 jog between them. Then if I run in a 62 second average, I am reinforced and this helps motivate me. It is these short-term, day-to-day goals on which I concentrate once I have started the training session. If you have a little imagination, you can vary your daily training so that you never get bored with it.
One thing I learned early on is that it is much easier to put in the time and effort needed to improve if you actually enjoy the physical act of running and the good feelings that result. I an not sure I could train as much as I do if I did not simply like to run. In fact, I suspect sometimes that my long-term goals may simply be excuses to be able to run more than I might otherwise.
(This article was written for THE RUNNER magazine, October 1981)