I started training for marathons again with one goal in mind. I knew that if I never qualified for Boston, I would regret it for a lifetime.
My initial thoughts were achieving a Boston Qualifying time would give me all the satisfaction I could imagine and my marathon running would be complete.
And by complete, I mean I would be done running marathons (assuming I could actually snag a spot in the race by only qualifying by a few minutes).
That thought process started to change over time. I fell in love with goal chasing and learned that I if I was confident, hard-working, and diligent I could achieve more than a BQ.
San Diego was a note to myself that I want more and can do more. It left me hungry… but it also left me injured.
The race was more than I thought it would be. Those very things that made it so challenging were what fueled me to start thinking about my next goal. Before I went to the medical tent, before my ankle had time to swell from the sprain, I set my thoughts on specific new marathon goal.
Yes, I wore an ear-to-ear grin for the two weeks following San Diego… but I’m not completely satisfied.
I’m satisfied with my performance that day. There isn’t anything I would change about how it all went down. To date it might have been my favorite running experience of my adult life. As the BQ grin fades so does my satisfaction with my initial goal. A BQ wasn’t enough.
So here’s the question, will we ever be satisfied? Is satisfaction actually a part of the goal?
I ask because I’m sitting here almost four weeks after the marathon, still nursing an injury unable to run wondering if I can ever be satisfied and will reaching one goal ever be enough.
This is a great topic. And I’m going to say that no, we are never satisfied! I remember hitting my current PR a couple of years ago and saying that I’d be happy if I never ran a faster marathon. And here I am today, striving for more. I think it’s just human nature.
Agreed. I think it’s fine to be happy, but still reach for more. Just so long as you don’t discount what you HAVE accomplished in pursuit of the next goal!
I like this. I think the word “discount” is key!
Honestly, I think satisfaction is overrated. We reach a goal, we feel accomplished and then we set another goal. That’s how we stay ALIVE!
Totally agree, Jen! Movement is life, right? I don’t think you can just reach a goal and be content, without continuing to move forward, and be happy. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to keep pushing in that area of your life. Maybe you set it aside for a while and pursue a goal in another area. But I do think constant setting of goals is key.
I love this topic! I think maybe everyone is different, but personally I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied. Deep down, I knew this before I ran my first marathon.. and I think that’s why I tried to put it off for as long as possible and work up to smaller goals first (I didn’t wait long haha) because I knew after the marathon, I would say, “now what?” and the answer to that question scared me.
I agree with MissZippy, we are probably never satisfied. I’ve BQ’d and still follow goals to improve times. When I get that time down as far as I think it’ll go (which is pretty soon I think), I see my goal switching to Ultras…there’s always a new goal. I agree, totally think it’s human nature. Great post.
Good luck with that next marathon time!
I’m torn. There’s a part of me that believes we will never be satisfied, that that’s just a part of human nature to want to strive and to achieve more. But then, there’s another part of me (I guess the more yogi-minded part) that believes that striving results from feeling something – that passion and that fire in our belly – and we only feel that for a short period of time before it goes away and return to a “normal” state. Maybe it’s not necessarily the end of striving but more finding a state in which that fire in the belly feeling is the norm, that we’re constantly on that higher plane and can sustain that feeling for longer so that we don’t need to strive anymore.
OK, sorry. That was a totally long and jumbled response 🙂
I think it was a great response!
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting” (The Alchemist)
I think our goals can change as we change…you BQ, and then want to do even better. It doesn’t mean our previous goals weren’t good enough, it’s just that we’ve reached another level and are ready for another challenge!