In the last article I addressed the cheaters, people who are willing to game the system and falsely claim their accomplishments. These individuals simply don’t get the value and the satisfaction of working hard toward a goal and seeing the results. Today, I would like to address another group of people who need to be reminded of what it’s all about, the overachievers. You know who you are. Nothing is ever good enough. No matter how far you’ve come, you’re still not happy.
As a recovering overachiever, I can tell you first hand that nothing can take joy out of running than the constant need to be better. Why do we do this to ourselves? It can become a seriously pathological and never-ending spiral. You have got to stop beating yourself over the head for not being what you think is good enough at the moment. Who can relate to these thoughts during a race? “Faster, come on legs, faster! What’s the matter with you? Why are moving so slow compared to that other guy in front of you?” Yes, I know, I actually talk to my body while I run. While it’s ok to push yourself and use other athletes as motivation to do better, it’s also important to enjoy the race. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Don’t take your progress for granted! Driving yourself really hard without looking back and appreciating how far you’ve come will surely land you with an injury, disappointment and even more important, lack of joy! Yes, that’s what I want to address today. Stop comparing yourself to others. While we do race with other runners, this is still a very individual sport. You have your own training, your goals, your pace, and your milestones! You work so hard, day in and day out, and you deserve to enjoy your accomplishments. I can tell you from personal experience that the worst race was the one I pushed really hard and didn’t enjoy at all. Getting 1st place in my age group wasn’t enough to replace the lack of joy. I was determined to have a different experience next time.
Running the following race was amazingly more fun because I was so relaxed that I smiled the whole time. Many thoughts went through my head while I ran. I was so thankful not be in any kind of pain, thankful that I have legs so I can run and thankful that I have a talent I can enjoy! And as a side note, I did just as well in terms of time even though it was a longer distance and a tougher course. So, calm your nerves on race day, relax, trust your training, wave to the cameraman, smile and remember to have fun. ENJOY THE RIDE! You got this!