How To Know If Your Goals Are Too Small (Hint: They Probably Are)

(originally published August 30, 2015. My original blog, on Wordpress, was hacked in early 2016. All of the original posts, through January 2016, have been re-posted here on Blogger.)


I thought I was dreaming big, going way beyond my limits, reaching for the sky. To run five marathons within a year at age 50 is huge.

Or so I thought. It turns out that it’s not a big deal.

A neighbor recently loaned me UltraMarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes. For some strange reason, my neighbor thought I’d be interested.  Never before has a book simultaneously inspired me and completely taken the wind out of my sails.

I used to think I was taking on something big. But compared to Dean Karnazes, running five marathons in a year is a stroll in the park. Compared to Dean Karnazes, even running five marathons in a month is a warm-up act.

Karnazes grew up an average student with above-average, although by no means off-the-charts, running talent. He worked hard at it and met with some success on his high school cross-country team. But after he was ridiculed by his high school track coach, he didn’t run another step for the next fifteen years.

Karnazes continued to work hard, though. In college, he still was an average student, but one who studied and studied, and then studied again. Karnazes didn’t think he was doing anything unusual, and sometimes was in awe of other students who seemed more gifted. That’s why he was so surprised to find out that he would be graduating at the top of his class. As my son likes to say about his basketball team, “Hard work beats talent – every time.”

Dean continued to work hard after college, achieving financial success in a sales career. But something was missing. When Karnazes turned 30, he had his mid-life crisis a bit early, wondering if there was something more to life than chasing after the next sales account. It turned out that that something was running.

He quickly picked up where he had left off fifteen years earlier, taking on a fairly rigorous running schedule. But things were to become more rigorous – much more.

While huffing and puffing up a hill near San Francisco, two young men bolted past him. As Karnazes continued to work his way toward the top, the two men ran down the hill and then sped past him to the summit again. Karnazes learned that they were training for the Western States 100, a beyond-grueling race through the mountains of Northern California held in the heat of the summer. Runners must traverse – you guessed it – 100 miles (actually 100.2, but who’s counting) through extreme weather, high altitudes, and some of the roughest terrain imaginable, ascending a total of 18,000 feet and descending 23,000 feet over the course of the race.

I don’t know about you, but if I came across two guys training for a race like that, I would wish them well, marvel at how some people can be a little crazy, and go back to what I was doing. Not Karnazes. He instantly decided that, yes, he too would get into peak condition to run the Western States 100.

Death Valley, site of the Badwater 135 mile run

To put this in perspective, running the Western States 100 is like running close to four marathons back to back under conditions that most marathoners will never see. Karnazes did what he had always done - he worked hard and got himself into shape for the race. he not only completed it, but over the following decade, ran nine more of them. He then ran Badwater a few times. Billed as "the world's toughest footrace," Badwater covers 135 miles, beginning in Death Valley, California, the lowest point in North America, and ending at the top of Mount Whitney. Oh, and the race takes place in late July when conditions in Death Valley are so extreme that the soles of a runner's shoes can actually melt from the heat of the pavement.

No, Karnazes didn’t stop there. Casting about for an even greater challenge, he found a 200-mile relay race. For the uninitiated, a relay race is run by a team of runners. Each runner covers a certain number of miles, meeting the next runner at a designated point, who then runs a set number of miles, and so forth until the team has collectively completed the full distance.

Not Dean Karnazes. He ran the race as “Team Dean,” comprising a team of one and covering the full 200 miles by himself. And yes, he also ran that race more than once. He even once finished the 200 miles and then turned around and ran an additional 26.2 miles – the distance of a full marathon.

As I said, reading about a guy who can run across entire states has been a downer, Actually, it’s ruined me. The other day, I went out for what I used to think was a long run – 2 ½ hours, about 15 miles. Some days, the running is harder than others, and this run was a struggle. So there I am, at about mile nine, berating myself because I need to work so hard. Before, I would have told myself that a little struggle is to be expected on a long run like this.

But now – now, I’m telling myself, “Come on. It’s only a 2 ½ hour run. It’s just fifteen miles.” Now I’m thinking that five marathons isn’t a big deal, and a training run that is over ten miles short of a marathon should be easy.

Yes, ruined me – but for the same reason, inspired me. If a guy with a bit of running talent can rack up over 200 miles in one go, then I, with no running talent, can probably manage 26.2 miles five times.

Don’t worry. I have no plans to run 200 miles, or 100 miles, or 50 miles, or anything beyond a marathon. The thought that my shoe treads could melt in the heat of Death Valley doesn’t particularly interest me, for some reason. I have plenty of obstacles to overcome just running five marathons. I don’t need more.

But all the same, I’m blown away by the thought that a human being could actually do this and live to tell about it. Learning about Dean Karnazes confirms my belief that we can accomplish exponentially more than we think we can – and not only in the physical realm, but in every part of life.

To take on a goal that seems beyond you isn’t easy – but it’s necessary if you want to get the most out of life. Or as Dean Karnazes puts it: “If you’re not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you’re not constantly demanding more from yourself – expanding and learning as you go – you’re choosing a numb existence. You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”

Ok – I’m pushing, I’m pushing. And I fully plan to make it through these five marathons. Beyond that, I have all kinds of goals (that have nothing to do with running marathons). In the past, when I’ve set a goal, I would ask myself whether I could achieve it. I’m slowly realizing that that’s the wrong question. The question to ask is whether the goal is big enough in the first place, or whether I should be shooting even higher.

So what about you? What are your biggest goals? What are your greatest dreams?

Not sure if you could achieve them? As Dean Karnazes says, “Dreams can come true, especially if you train hard enough.”

 _________________________

I am running these five marathons for the amazing children and adults at the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled. We have set a goal of $5,000. Every donation of any amount makes a difference. Click here if you want to help us get to the finish line!