Happy Saturday! If you’re new to THE CRAZY QUEST, you may wish to read about it here. Basically, I’m tracing my journey as I attempt to answer the question:
What would you do if you didn’t know you couldn’t do it?
This week of training: 109 miles
MILESTONES
We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive. C.S. Lewis
Today marks an important milestone in The Crazy Quest.
When I began the training phase of this journey, today’s ride was one of my main targets. We’re doing a ride we’ve organized called le Tour de Pooch. It’s an excuse to get together with friends, have a party, and enjoy a bike ride while we raise money for Canine Partners of the Rockies, a great organizations that trains service dogs.
As part of this ride, I’ve set a goal of completing the fifty-kilometer course in less than three hours. Last year I did the same ride in 3:20.
If I’m going to reach the ultimate goal of The Crazy Quest, I’ll need to ride 40-50 miles consistently in less than five hours. I’m a ponderously slow rider compared to other cyclists, and mostly I don’t ride for speed. But I needed this kind of goal to motivate my training, and now it’s time to measure my progress.
We need milestones, markers along the route of a long journey to make sure we’re making the kind of progress we seek. It doesn’t work to simply go along and hope we end up where we wish; we need to measure growth and adjust based on what we find. This isn’t just true in cycling or other athletic endeavors; it’s part of accomplishing any important goal.
If I’m right on track, I know I’m doing the right things. I move forward with increased confidence.
If I’m off course, I know I need to alter my training and preparation. The milestone helps me keep making progress toward the end result.
The milestone may even help me adjust my goal. Perhaps I’m aiming too low, or maybe I need to move in a slightly different direction.
It’s essential to remember that the milestone isn’t the ultimate goal. Failure at this point isn’t final; it’s simply a sign of necessary change. If I accomplish my three-hour mark, I’ll know that I need to keep going. If not, I’ll need to re-evaluate.
Milestones in life are the same. They’re important feedback if we’re going to get where we wish to go.
Next week I’ll let you know how I did and what’s next on the road toward The Crazy Quest.
Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful. Mark Victor Hansen
What big goals are you working toward? What milestones will help you measure your progress?
Did you enjoy this article? Please leave a comment, visit my website, and/or send me an email at rich@richdixon.net.
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