Third race of the year—Boston Buildup 15K
7:56, 8:06, 8:13, 8:30, 8:58, 8:16, 8:26, 8:21, 8:45
Overall, my pacing has improved, but still—I need lots more work, on both hills and with speed.
After running in so many races already, I’ve found that, if asked, 99% of runners think they could have done better in any given race. Even if they did great, and even if they had a PR, if you ask them about their performance, they’ll say something like “Well, I did okay, but if it wasn’t for x, y, and z, I could have done even better.”
Here are just some reasons for which they blame their poorer performances:
Went out too fast
Didn’t sleep well
Ate something they shouldn’t have
Didn’t eat something they should have
Drank too much the night before
Poor pacing
Didn’t train right
Was running into a huge headwind
Weather was too cold/hot
Have a cold/cough, etc.
Recovering from an injury
Got injured on the course
Wearing in new running shoes
Got crowded in at the starting line
Another runner kept cutting them off
Very hilly course
Too many cars on the road
Got distracted by another runner
Since I do have a cough, I can technically blame my poor performance at the race on being sick. Also, there were quite a few hills…Yet, I’ve come to realize despite what anyone says, there’s no such thing as a perfect race. There’s always something that will happen that’s beyond our control, no matter how well we prepare in advance.
In light of this, instead of asking runners how they did in a race, ask them the question that really matters, which is “Did you have fun?”
And for me, the answer will always be…..Yes.
