Welcome,
The other day I was reading an article about Molly Seidel. Most people know, Molly is the American woman who won a bronze at the marathon in this year's Olympics. At NYCM, she broke the American course record.
She is...
Someone who is paid to run.
Someone who does everything to have a good race.
In the article, she mentioned she noticed that it was usually amateur runners who tried to control everything.
Have the perfect pre-race meal...
The perfect building...
The perfect race day...
She noticed amateur runners (like 98% of people reading this) were most likely to stress out when things didn't go perfectly.
Truthfully that used to me! I wanted dinner at X time at X spot before a race. I had a schedule for my schedule. Ask my parents-it was probably stressful.
These days, I'm much more relaxed. For instance, over the weekend I raced a half marathon in Santa Barbara. We planned to leave early but we had too much going on Saturday morning and left a lot later (6 hours later). These things happen, and you can't control everything. I still ended up running my fastest half marathon in a few years.
So What Can You Do If Race Week or Race Day Isn’t Going the Way You Wanted?
Roll with It and Control What You Can:
You can’t control everything.
Most Importantly: Run the Race that Happens:
No matter the distance, race day rarely goes 100% as planned. Whether a 5k is delayed or it pours rain during a marathon. One of my best half marathons in 2017 was delayed 30 minutes due to a storm. Yet, I still had a great race and was 2nd overall. Everyone was dealing with the storm, not just me.
If the weather isn’t great, adjust your goals and run your race for that day. In Boston 2018, most people weren’t running to PR; they were running because it’s Boston! You’re there! I've run dozens of races in "bad weather," from heat to humidity, to torrential rain, even snow. Everyone is dealing with those conditions. You can only control your attitude and effort.
If you feel like something is off in the days leading up to a race, begin to think about your race strategy sooner rather than later. Whatever the circumstances, don’t hesitate to reevaluate your strategy. Whether that is not starting or evaluating your pace goals. (Yes I really believe sometimes not starting a race is the right answer).
What if your body doesn't feel great?
That's been my tune in the more recent years. If your body doesn’t feel good that day, it’s alright. Run for how you feel. I’ve had a dozen races where I thought, “this is the day I PR!” And guess what? It wasn’t. In some cases, I ran one of my slower times! I wasn’t injured or hurt, but my body didn’t feel great. That happened to me during the Crawlin Crab Half Marathon. I expected to run under 1:30 and ran a 1:32.
Those are the days you have to look at other factors as well: have you been sleeping well, getting the proper nutrition, are you stressed? They all factor into your race.
Stay Calm:
Staying calm in any situation is always easier said than done. If only staying calm was as easy as reading a newsletter about it. But remember, at the end of the day, we can only do our best.
Our best for our fitness…
Our best for the day…
Our best...
(And not what social media thinks you can do)
You are your biggest critic, and no one is more invested in your running than you.
So instead of getting frustrated with what you can't control, stay calm and relaxed. Take five minutes away from the race to reevaluate your goals and motivations. Regroup and move on with your new plan of action.
Not Every Race Will be a PR:
As someone who races a lot, I can say firsthand that not every race will be a PR. In fact, my last PR was in 2018, and I have probably run 50 races since then. It’s essential to focus on the training cycle as well.
Ask yourself: Did you grow as an athlete through your training cycle?
Did you get stronger?
Did you feel stronger?
Did you enjoy the training cycle?
Will there be another race? Of course, there will be...
Are you happy with how you ran the race for that day?
Many runners expect every race to be “your day.” Sadly, that isn’t the way it works. The more races you run, the more times the race won’t go as planned, whether it's bad weather or your body not feeling great.
As always, don't forget, your friends don't care if you PR. They care more if you are happy. Finally, at the end of the day, it really is just running.
What is Keeping Me Entertained?
Two 5ks last week: Whittier Spooktacular 5K (20:09) (the hilly one) and Finish the Ride 5k (20:11) (the one I won overall)
Episode #98: Noah Droddy, 9th Fastest US Marathoner of All-Time
Who Is Annie Frisbie, the American Runner Leading the NYC Marathon at Halfway?
They both ran the 1st New York City Marathon. Only one will run in the 50th’
If you are enjoying the newsletter series, I appreciate you sharing. Sharing helps new people discover it!
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These are definitely good points for relaxing on race day. Stress can be an event killer. I am not a fan of comparing to professionals though. These people have handlers and planners and sponsors and support that most of do not have. It is someone else's job to limit the stress on these athletes. Likewise, for many of us, it takes a week of work to pay for some of these races, maybe more so if it's a destination event. We need them to go smoothly since we have so much of our limited resources invested.
From a coaching perspective, this is the single biggest service that I offer. I want my athletes to know that even if raceday isn't perfect, we will be well prepared to adjust and have a good day.