MCM DIPLOMAT, Robert Dietz: Strive to achieve your personal Gold this year

Since the 2024 Olympics are in full swing you may be inspired to get off the sidelines and look into getting active in a sport or activity yourself.  This Olympic Games I would like to encourage all of the Marine Corps Marathon community to get themselves committed to completing their own personal goal. Your goal doesn’t have to be something extensive, like beating the Boston Qualifying standard for your age range by 5 min, but can be something relatively simple and attainable like run X amount of miles by the end of year, improve my 5k time, run my fastest mile, complete my next marathon without bonking, or for our military population score a higher PRT score. First Step in this journey is to lock in that goal. Stop reading right now and envision this goal in your head now commit to it!

Next I implore you to consider the following advice I provide in honor of the 5 Olympic Rings I have broken it down into 5 categories: PLAN, REST, FOCUS, NUTRITION, and CELBRATION.  

PLAN

Find a training plan or resources online that will help you achieve your goals.  If you have a running/fitness club you are involved in you may even have access to a trainer or coach to give you suggestions on obtaining this goal. For marathon training I suggest plans Like the Hanson’s Marathon Plan or Bandit Training Plan. I implore the reader to take on a plan with caution and to understand that modifications can be made to training if you are feeling off one week or have to revise for obligations.

REST

This is a personal area I can spend more time in. Like an Olympic athlete you have to understand your body can’t go full throttle all the time take some time to rest with off days, easy runs, or incorporate cross training into your schedule. About 2 weeks out from execution of your goal you should start tapering so your body is fresh for your event.

FOCUS

In the Olympics this year there was a lot of chatter over the gymnast Steven Nedoroscik rehearsing his technique prior but as you could probably notice he was envisioning execution of his successful routine even hours to minutes before he was called up. Find a way to envision your success through meditation. Prior to your event take some time to yourself to envision success and go over nutrition, race strategy, and envision yourself stepping across that finish line. Also when you are having a rough day or are not enthused about a particular training session take some time to envision success of attainment of your goal to inspire you to continue. Another part of FOCUS can be considered rehearsal depending on your goal rehearse your race during a tempo run or training session. In marathon training when I am training I rehearse my nutrition strategy and  pace execution during longer tempo runs. In a triathlon scenario I set up a mock transition zone and practice transition from Bike to Run prior to my main event.

NUTRITION

Find a good nutrition plan that works for you while racing and during your recovery. Try to eat clean meals with a protein and carb source to fuel your body for your goal.  Try to limit junk food from your diet ( I Know this is especially hard after completing a Long run!). Not only is it good to eat during recovery but figure out a nutrition plan that works for your endurance race (if that is your goal).  I encourage you to practice with the gels and drink sources during longer runs to know what you need to do for mission success on race day!

CELEBRATION

This is the final step! I encourage this to be done regardless of outcome. Training for a goal can sometimes be a lofty pursuit and should be celebrated. A part of having good sportsmanship is to have a positive and encouraging attitude regardless of outcome. I say even if you don’t achieve your goal the first time take notes and stay focused to try again. If you achieved this goal take some time to celebrate this win prior to training for a loftier goal.

I hope this helps encourage you to go for GOLD in a goal of your own the remainder of 2024! GO TEAM USA and OOH RAH Marines!