What? Not use speed or pace to measure your running success???!!! That’s just crazy talk…..
Maybe for some people but not for me! First of all, let me put you at ease if you do measure your running success based on speed. This is probably the most common way most runners do it. Again, not a bad way but also not the only way.
As a running coach, I hear this all the time with beginner and recreational runners. They are constantly deflated because they are not “fast” enough or “I’ll be the slowest runner out there” and apply a lot of pressure on themselves because speed is what everyone talks about when it comes to running. This could ultimately lead to big disappointments because they get injured from trying to get fast or just decide to quit because “running is not for me”.
WHAT IF……
What if there were other ways to measure your running success? Guess what? There are! Here are some of the ways I measure my success after a race, not in any order as they are all equally important (for me!):
- FEEL GOOD FACTOR: my goal for just about any race is to feel good the entire time. This goes against the competitive grain of “go all out” and “give it all you got”. Again, nothing wrong with this at all, but this doesn’t sounds like a way I want to spend my time. When I can finish a race and feel like a million bucks, that is a GOOD race! Don’t get me wrong, I like to push myself here and there. But generally speaking, I like to get into my body when I’m running. I like to have my mind and body connected so I can feel what is happening. I like to see what kind of adjustments I can make to make it more effortless and feel good. I don’t understand this idea of “suffering” through a run that many people talk about. I’ve learned to respect that every runner has different goals. If I’m suffering, I’m not having fun and what’s the point? My first 100K is a great example. I used the word epic to describe it. My goal the entire time was to feel good and have fun….and I did! (by the way a much easier goal to achieve than worrying about speed!)
My 100K took me 19 hours and 46 minutes. The cutoff was 20 hours. And here I am still smiling at the end….affirming that I was going to have fun and feel good, and making it so, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! If I would’ve set a speed goal for this, it would’ve changed everything for me.
- FUN!: If a race is not going to be fun for me, why bother. Many people don’t consider running fun but I do (of course there is a love/hate relationship with it!). If I’m not going to have fun, why do it? Strictly my opinion but pushing myself to a point of complete exhaustion doesn’t sounds fun to me at all. This means I’ll stop and smell the roses. I love to take pictures, especially if I’m in a new location. I’ve hung out with friends I haven’t seen in awhile volunteering at aid stations . Heck, I even stopped at an aid station for 20 minutes because they had some good alcohol!
Crown King Scramble 50K, getting ready to climb a big hill…yes, I’ll hang out and have a few drinks before I do that. Some people say why, but I say why not?
- LACK OF INJURIES: If I can run as much as I want, have fun and enjoy it, and not get injured too? Well, that’s just the icing on the cake! Now I can keep doing what I love to do and not get sidelined by injures. Last time I had a running injury that kept me from running was in 2014. Keep in mind that I’ve done one 100K, one 50 miler, one 40 miler and a bunch of marathons and 50Ks along with many miles since then. I give the biggest credit to ChiRunning as it’s completely changed my life. Poor running technique is one of the reasons runners (especially newer ones) get injured. Everyone assumes you put one foot in front of the other and you are good to go. If that were true, 65% of runners wouldn’t be injured every year. It’s not running that causes injuries, it’s HOW you run that does! I also stretch regularly, strength train and follow a training plan which are all factors in my running success.
Writing this post on 5/9/18 and this is how long I’ve been running (ultra running) without injuries…
Running has always been a competitive sport due to speed. No matter how long you go, there will always be a first place winner. Technology doesn’t help either. Now there are software programs/websites like Strava, Athlinks and UltraSignup that keep public records of your race performance. I’ve seen people have to explain on Strava posts why their run might’ve been slower because they were running with someone slower than them. Heck, Ultrasignup even ranks you and forecasts how you will finish based on past performances. This is a lot of pressure for beginner and recreational runners and it doesn’t have to be this way!
Imagine going into a race with no major nervousness about how you’re going to perform? Imagine going into it thinking about how much fun you’re going to have and how good it’s going to feel? Huge weight lifted off the shoulders! This is how I go into just about any race and it’s almost never failed me! When I go into a race thinking about PRing (setting a personal record), it changes everything.
So how do I do it?
My number one strategy is detachment and making a conscious choice not to care about how fast I finish a race. I first heard about the Law of Detachment when I started meditating. Definitely not the easiest thing to do in the world but like everything else, it takes practice and is great because it effects all other areas in my life as well. I basically go into a race being detached from any speed goals. I may say “I’d like to PR this race” but if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world and I’ll focus on celebrating what I did do well which usually ends up being the 3 bullet points above. This just happened to me at the Sinister Night Runs. I LOVE this course! I figured I had plenty of training since ultra season just ended for me and I’ve been feeling great. I pulled up my stats for the last few years and knew what I had to finish with. However I also decided I wasn’t going to look at my Garmin watch once to see where I was (I’ve done this before and it causes a lot of stress when you keep looking at your average pace and how far you still have to go. Then I tense up, I’m not relaxed AND I’m not having any fun again). I had one of the best races as far as Fun and Feel Good Factor! I mean I felt so amazing the entire time! Imagine my disappointment when I crossed the finish line 3 minutes later than my PR! Yes, I went there. I started getting a little bummed. But according to the Law of Detachment, another factor is dealing with uncertainty. Who would’ve known that I replaced my headlamp batteries with old ones so my light was so dim that I could barely see the ground (this was a night trail race). I was grateful for other people’s headlamps and the full moon that night. I couldn’t account for that. How many times do things not go as planned that you had no control over what so ever? So even though I didn’t PR, and I started with a bit of disappointment, I knew that I had a fabulous race that night and did not let my speed (or lack thereof) bring me down and suck the fun out of it for me.
So if you measure your running success based on your speed, I challenge you to take your Garmin off and go on a run without caring about how far or how fast you go. Just go run and see if any of the measures above work for you.
If you are a beginner or recreational runner, take a big sigh of relief now! It’s your running story and you can do what you want. I am a coach and say this! As someone who does this for a living and has finished DFL (Dead Effin Last) before and is a back of the pack runner in general, trust me, you can make our own rules!
I would love to hear how you measure your running success! Please share!
(This post was inspired by one of my recent Facebook Lives called: Why I’ll Never Qualify for Boston)
I love this!
From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)
