The Blog Post I Hoped I Wouldn't Have to Write

Last Saturday, in St. George, Utah, I ran my 13^th marathon in yet another attempt to achieve my frustratingly elusive goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon. 

I failed—again. 

Now it is time to write the blog post I hoped I wouldn’t have to write.  Here goes…

Strange as it might sound, my lucky number is actually 13.  So many things leading up to the race had portended a positive result.  I felt it was my time.  After all the work and waiting and adjustment and gained experience, I felt I had earned it.  I had convinced myself that the 13^th time would be the charm in my nearly 4-year long quest to qualify for the marathon. 

It WASN’T. 

If at First You Don't Succeed...

In January 2011, I set a goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  Since then, I have failed 12 times to achieve my goal.  It has been said: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again."  I hate that saying.

I don't hate it because I disparage the virtues of persistence or determination -- such characteristics are vital in achieving any meaningful goal in life -- and I obviously have demonstrated a willingness to vigorously pursue these traits.  I dislike it because it omits some KEY ingredients in any formula of true success.

Here's the way the saying should go: "If at first you don't succeed, do your homework to figure out why, make a better plan moving forward, and then try again."

The Satisfaction of Goal Achievement

Last weekend, I traveled to Jackson, Mississippi to run the Mississippi Blues Marathon as part of my SMARTIES Goal.  It was the first of four marathons I plan to run this year in my quest to qualify for the elite Boston Marathon.

I am pleased to report that I met my goal of running under 3 hours and 30 minutes.  I also broke my March 1st goal of running under 3 hours and 20 minutes.  My time for the race was 3:18.00.

Combatting "Insanity": My 2014 New Year's Resolution

In last week's post, I taught the principles of SMARTIES Goals.  As promised, this week, I will share with you my 2014 New Year’s Resolution, which is to qualify for the elite Boston Marathon, and describe it as a SMARTIES Goal.

I must confess to cheating a bit in that I actually started working on this goal three years ago.  Fortunately, this kind of cheating is encouraged!  You don’t have to wait for the New Year to set goals—especially SMARTIES Goals.  Furthermore, goals that are challenging and important sometimes take several tries before you accomplish them.