A couple months ago I hit a running goal that I was racing towards. My goal was 3 miles per one run.
After several months of running I finally hit it! I ran the 3 miles without even stopping – that’s a 5k!!!
But… I set a new running goal that was 4 miles now. At the start I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it honestly. The more I tried the harder it was. I kept going day after day and I hit the 3 mile mark fairly often but then about 2 months ago something happened.
My IT Band
We all have an IT band that stretches from our hip all the way down our leg. We have two, one for each leg. I learned that the more I run the more this band would hurt!
One day I was trying to run through the pain and I developed a feeling in my knee that I had never felt before… I literally had to stop running because it hurt so bad.
I took a break after this incident because I was scared if I kept running everyday through the pain that I may not be able to run again.
During the break I thought “will I ever reach 4 miles now?”
One day during my break I was doing some research on IT Bands and I found some stretches and remedies to help me out.
After doing these certain stretches along with ice (and a whole lot of praying :-)) I able to get back in the game. I have a competitive drive in me that won’t go away so I was super determined to reach 4 miles and guess what happened!?
After a month of stretching, icing and doing a little at a time, I REACHED MY GOAL THIS PAST WEEK!!!
The day I reached it my IT Band started hurting during the run so I had to stop and do more of my stretches but I pushed and I made it!!
Your goal
I want to ask you, do you have a goal you are working toward?
What it something you want to achieve in your life maybe in the next few months or even years from now? Have you given up? Are you about to quit trying?
I want you to set a goal that’s attainable and not far off. A small one like I did. A mile at a time. Maybe for you it’s not a running goal but something different.
Think of small goals to set that you can actually reach. When you start reaching these small goals it will feel great because you’ll feel victorious. Now I have big ambitions for my running, but I take it one goal at a time.
Goals take time, planning and dreaming. I would say many of the goals (especially significant ones) will take a long time to accomplish.
If it’s writing a book (I’m making progress on this one myself) 🙂 start with one page a day. If it’s building the habit of praying, start with 2 minutes a day. If you work on a team, set an end goal of what you want to accomplish and establish a way to track progress.
No matter your goal, I believe you can reach it! Aim high and dream big, set small goals that will help you get huge results. Also… if you have any remedies for stretching that IT Band give me shout! 🙂
Small goals lead to HUGE results.
Bryant Westbrook 