This week, along with Coach Debbie Larson, we frame our coaching conversation around the topic of endurance. While you may never want to run a marathon anytime soon, sometimes life’s journey can begin to feel like one. Maybe you’re someone who’s struggling to lose weight and that in itself is starting to feel like a never-ending loop. 

So here are FIVE THINGS that we feel will help you along the way:

1. Proper planning. Inspect what you expect at the beginning and make sure you plan accordingly. When do you expect to lose the next five pounds? Are you hoping it’ll come off, or are you actively preparing for it too? If you’re in an endurance sport, proper planning includes having the right gear, and having the right equipment, it ensures you have what you need when you need it along the way. Now, it's an experience that we’ll need in order to see if our planning was correct and from experience, we’ll be able to make the proper adjustments. 
2. Begin with the end in mind and expect to win. Mindset matters, and taking on an endurance challenge with a “wait and see” attitude won’t serve you well during the tougher moments of the journey. At the beginning of any journey, or long-distance event, it’s important to be aware of the course you’re traveling. Don’t know the course? That’s okay because we planned for the distance, right? Expect to win. Set out with the intention of losing that weight, join that program EXPECTING success, why would you think anything less? 
3. Train, and, train specifically for the event you’re undertaking. The “event” and “training” are two separate events but oftentimes we’ll act as if the training is the event. Do you train to eat healthily or do you “wing it” only to find yourself ordering food you regret before you even get home? Food prep is training for the person who is looking to eat healthier. Training for a marathon? Better get running. 
4. Get coaches and get coaches that have done what you’re doing or looking to do. The coaches you select should have been where you’re looking to be running a marathon? Hire a running coach. Looking to get stronger? Hire a strength and conditioning coach. Struggling to get healthy? Get a health coach. It sounds practical because it is. 
5. Celebrate your wins. Endurance training can, and will, have moments of monotony, so celebrating the micro wins along the way is a strategy that will help keep your energy and enthusiasm up. It’s the energy you can use to sustain the length of the race or event. Plus it’ll take your mind off some of the pain points that we know are coming. 

So if you’re someone who’s in the middle of your journey, find your tempo and keep chipping. Towards the end of yours? Make sure you stay focused on the steps because the end always presents one final challenge. 

And for those of us our first metaphorical or literal mile, you got it, you trained for it, now go EXPERIENCE it! Isn’t that what life’s all about?