What is my Main Goal?

Mission Statement:
"I am passionately pursuing the consistent improvement of my health by regularly setting and achieving fitness goals, encouraging others from my strong and challenging experiences, and depending on and praising my Creator as the Producer from which I can do all things."

One of my friends posted in her blog about how her increasing mileage weekly and competing in 10 Halfs in '10 might be a contradiction in goals. And wouldn't you know it, I ran into a set of goals myself that may seem to be counterproductive.

I have a goal that I started last year to enter and compete in a race every month. According to my race coaches for my Spring Training, we are not ready for a 5K. My thought was that for February, I could still technically enter, and take it easy. My other thought has been that my main goal in ALL of this...back to my mission statement, is to "passionately pursue the consistent improvement of my health." Does running in a race (much less trying to PR) contribute or take away from that goal?

Sure it'd be good bragging rights to say, "I've entered a race event every month since June of '09 and in '10 PRed in every event." But is my purpose to brag or to overall improve and consistently improve my level of fitness.

Now, following and being dedicated to my training and my coaches recommendations...that seems to overall support my mission statement. It keeps with the spirit of improving and being consistent. The original intent of the "one event a month" goal was to make sure I was staying active. I would previously go months and months, even years and years without regularly exercising and that goal was a way to make sure I at least once a month set out to compete and get active.

My level as an athlete, as someone who is consistently trying to improve my fitness, and as someone in a training group already lends itself naturally to getting active once a month. So, I'm pretty sure I'm going to put the "event a month" goal on hold until I reach the 10 mile.

Today I am going to work on surrendering "my ideas, plans, and arrangements". My way hasn't worked before, so this part of my journey is about surrending ME and MY to what works and is proven. At the end of the day, the end of the 16 weeks, I believe that I truly will be more fit through following the Couch Coaches advice.