How to define success is going to be up to you at it pertains to running.
Runners get caught up in placing well, running fast times and justifying our performances.
Have you sat back after spending weeks and months preparing for a race only to fall short of what you wanted?
How did you feel?
So, what words were you using in your head after those performances?
Were you kind to or belittling yourself for not hitting your goal?
The key is to not lose the enthusiasm while going after difficult goals. This sport demands a lot of our time and attention. You either want it or you don't.
You're either interested or committed. It is one or the other.
Furthermore, it could be the difference between you achieving your long term goal or someone else achieving it.
Lessons in Failure
The 2013 Monumental Indianapolis Half-Marathon was my first race back in nearly 2 years. It wasn't what I would call a great race for me. That being said, I ran 1:14:12.
It was a start.
Remember, you have to start somewhere. None of us just go out to the race and run a stellar time without some effort. You have to be willing to get kicked in the teeth.
I finished in 1.14.12 and had to stop three times fighting with the decision to DNF or finish the race, no matter how ugly the result.
In addition, I went out the first mile in 4.59 and totally blew up. Can you relate? It is good to go out and experiment. That being said, make sure you are fully prepared to take those risks before you decide to do so.
Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan
A week later I drove to Goodlettsville, Tennessee to compete in the Team Nasvhille 10-Miler. The result?
Every master was once a disaster – T. Harv Eker, entrepreneur
I finished in 2nd place with a time of 56.11 over a hilly course and got destroyed in the process.
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The winner ran 50.59 and clearly was in better anaerobic shape.
I did the second fastest 20-mile long run in training that I have ever done finishing in 1.50.43 a few weeks later.
I have included my splits:
5.25, 5.34,5.37,5.29,5.28,5.25,5.24,5.24,5.22,5.14 (54.28)
5.30,5.26.5.31,5.34,5.25,5.43,5.53,5.54,6.02,6.00 (56.15)
I gave Lisa Rainsberger a call and told her about how my long runs were going. Below is her response.
A Boston Marathon Champion's answer
Remember when you ran 2.19 for the marathon it wasn't just the harder long runs but all the workouts we were doing that were well under the pace you wanted to run for the marathon distance. The harder long runs were an extension of those workouts but you didn't run 2.19 just because you ran your long runs at 5.45 mile pace. It was the mile repeats at 4.45, the hard hill repeats, the long tempo runs at 5.10 pace.
Fail Fast
Why am I sharing this?
It is about helping other runners and helping you to keep things in perspective and not to focus only on the event.
It is the process that counts No one promised us perfect workouts, races or weather. How we react to failures and disappointments will determine how successful we will be.
I wanted to share my experience to let you know that all runners have setbacks.
Also, it took me rom 2002 to 2007 to break 2.20 for the marathon.
I had to take nearly a year and half away from racing due to a deployment to Afghanistan That was difficult. Remember, we are always in control of our thoughts and attitude.
Our mindset is everything and I want you to maintain enthusiasm throughout your training block.
This site is about learning from failures, discussing ways ahead and how to help other athletes too.
There are people out there who don't have the luxuries we have. They get out and make things happen. We live in a very soft society here in America. Also, your surroundings and the people you associate with matter. Are they uplifting you to do more than you currently are?
Do you know the average American is watching 5 to 6 hours of television per day? We all have the same 24 hours in a day? How many hours a day are you wasting on non-sense? When was the last time Anderson Cooper or Wolf Blitzer put money in your pocket?
Furthermore, have either of these two talking heads helped you in anyway to lose weight?
Stop wasting time on non-sense, media and bad news stories. Change up your routine. How to define success is getting rid of all negativity and distractions.
Focus on Long-Term
One of the greatest lessons I have learned from the Kenyans is they don't let a bad race get the best of them.
They get dropped in workouts but they keep coming back. In addition, they never lose enthusiasm. These professionals are highly effective on the track and roads for a reason.
I watched an elite Kenyan drop out at mile 3 at the 2013 Monumental Indianapolis Half-Marathon earlier this month in my race.
The Kenyans have off days too.
I had total disasters at both the half-marathon and full marathon distances before I ran 1.07.06 and 2.19.35. How to define success as a runner is by simply staying consistent
Missing our goals sucks but most of us are too stubborn, enjoy the sport too much and realize that true success is giving it our best shot with the fitness we have.
If we miss the target we simply continue to train, adjust course and work on the weaknesses.
Make sure to subscribe to the RunDreamAchieve YouTube channel. I create new videos each week to help runners such as yourself get to the next level. There are also running courses and monthly, online coaching available here at rundreamachieve. You can view these options by looking at the navigation menu at the top of this website. I hope this post on how to define success has been helpful to you.
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