Be Proud
June 6, 2016
Running expert Nate Vandervest talks about taking pride in your race — no matter what the results
Race season is full swing, and with it comes expectations.
I tell all the runners I work with that the first goal in training is commitment. The first thing a person should do is sign up for their goal race — it means you have some skin in the game. The second thing is to tell everyone that you know — family, friends, co-workers, etc. — that you are running a race. They will keep you going when they ask about your training, and you’ll stay motivated as you report back.
Finally, race day comes along, and you complete your event. All those same people will want to know how you did. This gets to be the tough part for some runners — those who may not have lived up to their expectations on race day.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tough pill to swallow when you don’t race well — and I know that as well as anyone. Case in point: my second marathon was the Boston Marathon. I had a lot of people who were interested in how I did, so I didn’t want to disappoint. I made three major errors in that race:
1. My training wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Due to an injury early in training, I was not in the shape I should have been.
2. I set my goals way too high. This was only my second attempt at this epic distance, and on the biggest stage … so I shot for moon. And totally missed.
3. I didn’t modify my pace based on the hot weather conditions for the day.
Add all this up and you have the slowest, hardest and most grueling marathon I’ve run. Great! Now I get to go back home and tell everyone how bad I am … or do I?
The point here is that you should take pride in your training and racing — no matter the result. You are doing something that very few people even consider, taking on the challenge of running a 5K, 10K half marathon or marathon. You are already in an elite group! None of us is perfect, and unfortunately sometimes we have a bad day and a bad race — even elite runners don’t set a PR every time. What we can do with that experience is learn from it. That is how we get better.
When someone asks “how did your race go?” take the high road with your answer. I hear a lot of people say “I did awful,” “I didn’t sleep well the night before” or “It was too hot.” We can all make excuses, but do we have to?
Instead, tell them how great the experience was. Tell them you gave the best effort you had for that day, or that you left some time out there that you hope to get back at the next race. Be proud of your accomplishments! Remember, most of the people who ask you probably don’t know the difference between a 45-minute 10K and a 75-minute 10K. What they do know is that you did it.
Remember, the key is to learn from your experiences so you don’t make the same mistakes twice. This will allow you to become a more consistent runner in training and racing and lead to better results. Now it will be a lot easier to tell your co-workers how great you did.
Always Running,
Nate Vandervest
Running Coach, CSCS, CES
Nate is a running coach and strength coach who specializes in running assessments, strength training and personalized running programs. For more information contact [email protected].
