When I was younger, running was easy. Breaking a six minute mile was fairly effortless. In today’s context, it is nearly impossible. After taking some time off from consistent running, I decided to get back into it a little more seriously. While I have been running sporadically for most of my life, I certainly wasn’t training like when I ran track in high school or cross country/road races in college. In my post-college years I would go months at at time without running much at all. It was not long ago that I decided that I wanted to run a six minute mile again. I have developed a fairly simple plan to work toward that goal, balancing work and other responsibilities. I run 30 minutes a day, either outside or inside on the treadmill, and as part of that time I make sure to run a small portion at a 6:00 per mile pace increasing the portion each day.
I started with running 2 tenths of a mile at a 6:00 pace and I then increase that by .01 each day. So the first day .20, the next day .21, etc. If I can maintain this schedule then I should be able to run a half mile at a 6:00 mile pace in a month and achieve my six minute mile in three months. Now I recognize that there is a limit to this progression, and by that I mean that I would not be able to maintain this pattern long enough to run a marathon at a 6:00 per mile pace. However, for what I want to achieve it is doable.
This is a metaphor for many things in life. I fully believe that measured progress is the best way to achieve personal and financial goals. A college degree, a job promotion, a million dollars, etc. Whatever your goal may be, I feel that most goals you could imagine can be achieved with measured progress. It takes planning, commitment and perseverance, but it is possible. Think on those things you want to achieve, develop a plan and then meticulously work toward that goal. The race is not won at the finish line, it is won in the hours of preparation and training. In the same way, goals are not achieved at the last minute, but are achieved through consistent and methodical progress.