The Difficulties of Goal Setting

I haven’t talked much about my son Jamie’s running program since his second 10k last month.  There is some sad news to report: he had really hoped to be able to complete the third run in the Kona 10k series, the Halloween Run in October.  It would not only given him a third 10k medal (Kona has sweet medals!), but also a special, bonus medal for doing all three of their 10k races in one year.  That kid really loves medals. 😉

Unfortunately, we got the hockey tournament schedule last week, and, wouldn’t you know it, he has a hockey tournament in the Upper Peninsula that weekend. 🙁  The race is important, but hockey tournaments are more important, since his team counts on him to be there and keep those opposing forwards away from our goalie. 😉  So, he won’t be able to do the final race and get the bonus “swag.”  He was bummed, but we both agreed we’d try again next year.

To make up for it, we started planning other races.  So far, we’re doing a 5k on July 13, and then in September, we’re going to do the same 5k he did last year as his first-ever.  He was really excited to go back to that one and do it again! It was a very nice, well-organized race.  I knew he wanted to try for one more 10k before the end of the year, so after much searching, I found one that should work around the hockey schedule, and, as an added bonus—it’s got a great theme!

Kona Chocolate Run

The race touts some pretty awesome features, like hot chocolate, scones, and a chocolate fountain at the end. I’m not sure who’s more excited about it—Jamie or me. 😉

With his new race schedule set, Sunday was another running day for Jamie. He ended up skipping a run last week due to having received shots on Tuesday.  His arm hurt him on Wednesday and Thursday, and he seemed tired and out-of-sorts anyway, so I gave him a pass.  On Sunday, he felt better, and the weather wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been, so we agreed to run a couple of miles after church.  On our way home, I asked him if he had a goal for the July 13^th race.  He paused and said, “Well, I’ll just throw this out there…how about 28:30?”

*choke*

Dude, that’s a full minute and half faster than my best 5k time!  I wanted to say, “Hell no!”, but I really didn’t want to be negative when he was trying to better himself.  Instead, I asked him to look that time up on my phone and see what it equated to in pace per mile.  He did so, and it turns out that’s a 9:10 pace! Way faster than what either of us have run to date.  I asked if he thought he could do it, and he hesitated. “I don’t know.” So I said we’d run that afternoon and see how his time was.

When we got out on the road, I tried to tell him not to start out too fast, but he always does.  He was so fast, in fact, that he left me behind.

 

 

He seems to think he has to run as fast as he can from the get-go in order to have the best run he can.  One thing I’ve learned in my year of running is that starting out at break-neck speed is a recipe for disaster.  He started out in the 8s, but before the end of the first mile, he was in the high 10s and I caught up with him easily.  After the first mile, we turned around, and he was so tired, he had to walk twice on the way home.  He is so competitive, and so determined to have a “fast” run, that he sprinted at the end, but even that he couldn’t hold for the full tenth of a mile.  When the run was over, and he looked at his splits, he was so upset.

 

 

 

He was devastated by the 12:08 second mile. “But I ran as fast as I could at the end!” It was SO hard for me to try to explain to him that he doesn’t need to start out running as fast as he can, but rather he needs to be consistent. (I know, pot/kettle, etc.)

He was really discouraged, and it just broke my heart.  I’m not a running coach by any stretch, and I can only talk to him based on my own experience.  I sure wish I could explain it better so he could understand it!  But it’s hard for me to make him see, when I’m so new at this myself.  🙁

We talked about it a LONG time, and we determined that he could try for a 30-minute finish for his next 5k. That’s a 9:40 pace, which I’m honestly worried about him doing, but I don’t want to discourage him either. We decided we would aim for more consistent training runs between now and then. If anyone has any advice on how I can help him understand, I would love to hear it! He’s a very “methodical” kid, with a great mind for math and “engineering” type stuff.  I would love to explain it to him in a way he can understand, so that he knows he can shoot for a great run without exhausting himself in the first half a mile. 🙁

Thank you to those who wish to help!  And, because it seems wrong to only have one picture, here’s another one of the wheat fields we passed on our way home. 🙂

 

 

Thanks for reading!