Hank loves to walk. Almost as much as he loves the thought that there MAY BE a walk in the near future. If he sees me grab my running shoes and my socks, or if he hears me ask, "Do you want to go OUTSIDE?" or "Do you want to go for a WALK?" he responds by barking and twirling in circles faster than the Tasmanian Devil. Going for a walk is the best part of Hank's day.

Many of us are guilty of focusing on the goal and not the journey - in running, and in life. Many of us are also guilty of making promises to ourselves and not following through with them. It happened when I was training for Chicago. In the spring, I had plenty of time to train. I convinced myself I could miss one workout and it wouldn't matter. If I enjoyed the process like Hank, I would've probably done a better job following through with those commitments.

My program over the past couple weeks involves a run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Walks happen on Monday, Friday and Saturday. The past two Saturdays Hank and I walked the bike trail that splits downtown Winter Garden, heading 17 miles northeast and 5 miles west to the county line where it continues for several more miles. Today we covered about five miles over seventy minutes starting around 10:30am. It was a good base building day.

The beauty of the past two weeks has been re-establishing consistency. Since speaking to my coach nearly two weeks ago, I missed the first walking day but have been on the road every day since. Striva shows since June 29th I've run 8 times covering 29 miles and logging 5 hours, 35 minutes. On the 29th I ran 2.7 miles (34:28) at a 12:37/mi. pace, and Thursday I ran 3.7 miles (34:56) at a 9:34/mi. pace. Any time you can shave three minutes per mile off your pace is good.

While consistency on the road has been the theme over the past two weeks, the time of day (focus on the mornings) and adding strength and flexibility to the training have NOT been consistent. To minimize the risk that a workout doesn't happen, miles need to be logged first thing in the morning. To maximize potential, strength and flexibility need to be sprinkled during the day. Doing both will add energy and enthusiasm to everything done during the day.

The week ahead has 40 minutes of running on Tuesday, 50 minutes on Wednesday and 30 minutes on Thursday, with the exclamation point being the Celebration of Running 5K on Saturday morning. I'll throw in strength training on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and stretching every day. Three months ago, my goal for the final 5K of the summer was to run at a 9:00 per miles pace. Adjusting for imporvement, I'd be happy with a pace of 8:30/mi. (finishing at 26:21) and thrilled with a pace of 8:00/mi. (finishing at 24:48).

Or maybe I'll just follow Hank's lead by enjoying the run and the tall glass of water at the end.

In order to get better, you have to work on whatever it is you want to improve. Conversely, if you don't focus on what you want to improve, things will likely stay the way they are. They may get better. They may get worse. But without focus and consistency you lose control over which direction events will head. That's it. That's the news flash.

DUH!

The past two months since my last post was busy. Workouts were performed, but urgent work-related activities dominated the days. Thrown in the middle was a fishing trip to Alaska with my father, two of my brothers and my son. My intent was to run during that trip, but my running shorts didn't make the flight out of Orlando. They sat on the couch at home for an entire week, not doing a thing. Alaska without internet access or cell phone coverage was a much-needed break off the grid, which is the best (and for many like me, the ONLY) way to escape the 24x7 demands of the role I fill at work. The punch line . . . we all need a break, and I had mine from work and from running - both of which were creating stress.

I ran a 5K prior to leaving for Alaska. The workout plan designed by my coach has me running a 5K every month starting in June until August. My coach puts together my plans, but I assign my goals. Her focus at this point is getting me a solid base without injury, and that involves getting out and running without a focus on anything but getting out and running.

Being goal-oriented, I can't help it. Goals are important. I learned last year in training for Chicago my goals need to be more conservative - which is consistent with my coach's plan. My conservative goal for the first 5K in mid-June was to run at a 10:00 per mile pace. Last year I would've been embarrassed to SET that goal, not to mention share it publicly. The logic was if I could run my first 5K at 10:00 per mile, run the second at a 9:30 per mile pace and my final 5K at a 9:00 per mile pace, that should give me the base I need to run 13.1 at 9:00 per mile and finish under 2:00:00. I finished the first 5K at a pace just above 9:00 per mile.

That gave me confidence, and renewed the focus on my goals. If last year I learned I need to be more conservative, what i'm learning THIS year is I also need to be more consistent. After my first 5K, crazy work happened then I went on my trip to Alaska, consistently running twice a week at best. Not the right kind of consistency (my coach tells me I'll need to focus on four or five times a week once I'm serious about Boston). Then I returned from Alaska with a renewed sense of focus and commitment, but also a week's worth of e-mail and activities. The first week back involved work-related travel, then a second week of work- and personal-related travel to the northeast (my wife and daughter were with my in-laws while I was away). I was to run another 5K yesterday, but the three days before involved travel with flights that didn't arrive until after 11pm and intense meetings that were the reason for the travel.

So, I've hit the RESET button!! This afternoon, we'll all be home and the world will be back on its axis. The new "goal" will not revolve around times. For the next month, the goal will be to get out EVERY morning and focus on running four times a week. Workout mornings will involve a run. Non-workout mornings will involve a walk and stretching. Today, I track progress using my apps on my iPhone. Up to this point, I've used RunTracker which automatically loads to TrainingPeaks. Tomorrow, I'll start using Strava. It appears more goal-oriented and it's easier to interact with others. Since my brother uses it, it'll be easier to engage with him and his efforts.

From there, progress will be made. Just wait.