QT: Resetting Your 2020 Goals After a Crazy Start to the Year

By now, you probably know that I’m a big fan of big goals.

That’s why every January I make a big deal about setting my sights high for the new year.

I know full well that over the course of a year life happens, and often that means that certain goals may go beside the wayside.

But this year? 2020?

To say that life has happened this year would be a bit of an understatement.

And as such, resetting your 2020 goals is likely necessary.

Don’t Throw Your Days Away

Obviously, we have no idea what the rest of 2020 is going to look like.

Will there be races?

Will there be a second wave?

When will things start to get back to normal?

I feel like a theme is starting to emerge…

With so much uncertainty, setting goals for the rest of year is a little tricky.

But, in my opinion at least, the worst thing you can do for yourself as a runner is to avoid setting goals for the remainder of 2020 simply because we don’t know what the next six months will bring.

I mean, not for nothing, but are we ever able to confidently know what life is going to bring six months down the road? Six weeks? Six days?

When it comes to your running, you have a choice to make for the remainder of the year. Though from where I sit, it’s a pretty easy one.

You can either make the most of the miles you’ll run this year, making intelligent progress toward your bigger goals. Or you can more or less waste the rest of 2020.

Your call, but resetting your 2020 goals is probably the right move.

Non-Race Goals are Key Right Now

Probably safe to say that whatever goals you implement for the rest of 2020 shouldn’t be focused solely on race results.

So what are some other options?

What kind of goals can you set that will help you make the most progress possible over the next ~180 days?

Obviously, you’ll have to figure out what’s best for you.

But here are a few suggestions to at least get your gears turning.

Focus on What You Can Control:

Since races may or may not be thing, a goal focused on running a particular race isn’t something you can control.

So instead of races in the rest of 2020, focus on what you can control.

Namely, on you and your effort.

Set a goal for consistently doing the little things .

Or consistently running a certain number of days per week or miles per month.

Or implementing a pre/post-run routine.

Whether or not there are races for the rest of this year, you can work toward these types of goals no mattter what.

Keep the Big Picture in Mind

What are your long-term running goals?

What can you do to move you closer to those goals during the second half of 2020?

By zooming out and looking at your bigger picture goals, you can make sure that the work you are doing the rest of this year moves you in the direction that you are ultimately trying to go.

Make Your Goals Quantifiable

This is pretty standard goal setting advice, but it really is kind of important.

If your goal is vague, it’s going to be difficult to really gauge whether you’re hitting the mark or not.

But if you have a goal that you can track, such as completing 80% of your planned strength training workouts, it’s easy to know how you’re doing at any given time.