Tony's Coaching Tip The moving target
May 2007

Greetings!

Welcome to the May 2007 issue of Tony's Coaching Tip.

For the eagle-eyed amongst you, you will have noticed that there was no April 2007 issue of Tony's Coaching Tip. I said at the end of the March tip that I would be publishing in the first week of May and I have decided rather than bring it back into line at the end of this month, I will now publish at the beginning of each month. So there you go.

After dropping the photos from the tip, several more subscribers have now said that they liked the photos. It just goes to prove that you can't please all of the people all of the time. This edition is without pictures again, but who knows what I'll decide for next month?

It's been an interesting month for me, starting with serving as a jury member in a crown court for all of 1 hour. Then, of course, there was the marathon! Lastly, but by no means least, I spent a week in Hamburg helping a team from a well known high quality pen/jewelry manufacturer to create a pop video featuring all the members of the team. Who says my life isn't varied?

There is no Bits and pieces section this tip as, for the first time in quite a while, I haven't managed to finish a book this month.

Thank you to those of you who so generously sponsored me to run the London Marathon. At the latest count I have raised over �1,000 for Demelza Children's Hospice. I completed the marathon in 4 hours, 31 minutes and 48 seconds, 12 minutes outside my target time, but 16 minutes faster than my previous attempt. And yes, it was bl***y hot!

I know I wrote an earlier tip saying that I would not set myself any time goal for this marathon, but I also believe you have to be flexible in your approach. In the end, I needed the additional structure of a time goal because purely using the fun factor wasn't inspiring and motivating me enough in my training. You always need to adapt to what works.

Adapting to what works and the merits or pitfalls of having just one challenging goal is the topic for this month's tip. As usual, if you enjoy it, please forward it on to friends and colleagues and ask them if they would like to subscribe too.

in this issue
  • Quote of the month
  • Feature: The moving target

  • Feature: The moving target


    Adjusting my marathon training, by adding structure and a target time to work towards, was exactly what I needed to spice up my training and to motivate me to put in the work. In fact, it also had a knock-on effect of making the training more fun.

    As the training had been so successful and because I was confident that I could achieve my goal, when it came to running the race I kept the same goal that had worked so well up until then.

    However, I hadn't allowed for almost record temperatures and had also forgotten quite how difficult it is to maintain a pace when surrounded by hundreds of other runners going at different paces.

    So by the time I realised that my target was no longer achievable, I didn't have another one to take its place. Consequently, the final third of the race was a real struggle for me as I had nothing to aim for any more.

    I look on the New York City Marathon in 2003 as my most successful marathon to date. It was actually my slowest marathon time but it was also, by far, the most enjoyable. It is the only marathon where immediatley after finishing I was planning when I could do my next one, and even wondering how I could spice it up a bit.

    So what was the key difference between last Sunday's race and New York?

    In New York I set out with 3 separate targets: a basic target - to complete the course and enjoy the whole experience; a bonus target - to complete it in under 5 hours; and an "icing on the cake" target - to complete it under 4 and a half hours. In the end, I achieved two out of the three and was ecstatic as a result.

    It is difficult to conjure up a new target when you're already in the thick of it, for example after 18 miles of running when your only target has just disappeared and you are already feeling deflated and exhausted. But if you plan for potential obstacles beforehand and create two or more targets, the options are already laid out.

    If I had done this last Sunday, it would have been much easier to adjust, refocus and plough on, and I would have had a much better chance of enjoying the entire race.

    So, when setting your work, career, personal or life targets, start with something that you know that you can achieve, even if obstacles do appear, and that will still feel like an achievement.

    Then pick a second target that feels realistic but is more of a stretch.

    Finally, set an "icing on the cake" target that represents your absolute ideal.

    Then aim for the icing on the cake, but be ready to recalibrate to adjust to what life throws at you.

    Thanks for reading. The next issue will be on the 6th of June.


    Until next time,

    Tony

    Tony's Coaching Tip is usually published on the first Wednesday of each month to challenge, stimulate and inspire people who want to release their own potential and the potential of others. It is written by Tony Phillips, who coaches organisations & individuals to release their true potential.

    The names of coaching tip subscribers will never be shared or sold.

    You are free to use material from Tony's Coaching Tip in whole or in part, as long as you include the complete attribution, including e-mail link. Also, please notify me where and when the material will appear. Thanks.

    � 2007 Tony Phillips - All Rights Reserved


    Quote of the month
    Tony (cropped)

    "If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes."

    - Albert Einstein



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