Day 81: Setting Unrealistic Goals!

G’day,

When I into a full-blooded 84-day physique transformation (first time in 12 years!) I have never “stood down” from a goal I set myself on Day 1…until today.

Over the course of my previous Missions back in the late 2000’s I set a few outrageous goals like putting my six-pack to a public vote on Mission 2 Judgement Day (with a pre-paid trip to Phuket on the line!). Or come to think of it, maybe releasing a book,  starting a forum, running a body transformation contest and scheduling a meet-up in New York, all at the same time was more outrageous!

However, the goals I set during those times had validity because I built upon each one incrementally, with the knowledge that if I apply myself day-in-day-out they can be achieved. I had gained a level of experience in setting ambitious but achievable goals over the course of 1000 days.

This time around I was out of touch with what could actually be achieved in 84 days when I start 100 pounds overweight! I am specifically talking about my part one of Mission 1 (2021) Challenge of running 5km in under 30 minutes. This will not be happening on Day 84 and most likely won’t happen for a while yet, and that is okay.

So, how did I come to set such an unrealistic goal? Well, I essentially plucked the goal out of thin air! The only basis I had for picking this goal was the fact I used to run 5km in 25 minutes. The fact that I was around 50 KG lighter and 12 years younger seemed to escape my cognitive processes!

In spite of this I am still extremely happy with my progress this Mission. I started on Day 1 running at an average pace 10:05 per/km and will finish in the range of 7:45 per/km. Over a 5km run that is an 11:40 iprovement over the course of 12 weeks. Actually, just being able to run 5km without stopping (which I did on Day 78) is something I’m ecstatic about!

So, the upshot of all this is I will do both challenges on Judgement Day with the knowledge that my 5km run will be around the 38 minute mark and my swim will be around the 9:50 mark (yay!). I will mark one as a loss and one as a win and resolve to set smarter goals moving forward!

Until tomorrow,

AJ