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There’s no crying in running!  How to recover from a bad race

Posted June 25, 2007 at 03:00 PM by Bridget Sullivan

Section: Her Fitness, Athletics, Her Motivation, Special Features

“Once you’re beat mentally, you might as well not even go to the starting line.” -Todd Williams

When I nervously pinned my bib number onto my new technical tee, slathered my body in Ben-Gay, and stretched my aching glutes and hamstrings, I knew that I was not sufficiently prepared for the 26.2-mile journey ahead of me.

I was too stubborn to admit defeat, but when mile 14 rolled by, I stopped.  I frantically watched as the seconds ticked away and my goal time turned into a sad country song . . . the man of my dreams didn’t slip away, but the race of my dreams sure did. 

Determined to finish, I pressed on; with pain striking my back like lightning with each unremarkable step, I counted down the miles.  When I shuffled by mile 19, lightning struck for a final time.  I crashed and burned, walked into the arms of my twin sister, and called it a day.

That race remains my only DNF (did not finish) to date; a true strikeout as far as racing is concerned.  But it also remains one of the most fundamental learning experiences in my life as a runner.  It made me hungry, motivated, and self-aware.

So how do we roll back the tears, handle our strikeouts and get back on the roads?  In order to answer this question, I reflected on my own racing slumps and consulted H.K.K., a former Oregon cross-country athlete and an accomplished marathon runner and coach.  The following list sums up what we came up with. 

Consider these points and remind yourself that there is no crying in running!

You are racing poorly because you have bad racing habits and unrealistic expectations
• Did you have a plan?  A lot of people head into races wanting to race well, but they do not have an actual plan in place.
• If you have a plan, did you execute your plan?  Or does this sound familiar: your plan goes out the window when the gun goes off.
• Did you race to your strengths and plan to you your ability?  Knowing what you can do makes designing and executing your plan easier.
• Be honest.  Did you REALLY taper?  Did you show up to the race on tired legs?  Was your goal realistic?  Did you put in the necessary training and take
the required rest? Were you over trained or under-trained?
• Did you psych yourself out?  Do not let fear paralyze you.  Even Paula Radcliffe has bad races. But don’t swear off racing because you are afraid of
disappointment. If you walk into a race telling yourself that you suck, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, and - well - you suck on race day. Conquer
your fear.  Approach the starting line with confidence.  You deserve it if you have banked the miles and put in the hard work.
• Did you fuel your body properly leading up to the race?  Poor pre-race fuel = poor racing times.

Racing is a mental and physical challenge
• You can’t control what other people do.  Sometimes (in fact, most of the time), other people are faster.
• Effort matters more than result times or place.
• Everyone can have a bad race or have something unplanned happen.  Live with it and gut it out.
• A bad race tests you more than a good one.

Be objective...or Get a grip.
• No race is the same, so why should your performance be the same?
• Time goals change with the conditions.  Did you modify yours?

Miscellaneous points
• Enjoy every race you’re in.
• Take note of all the volunteers helping you.
• Unless you are a professional, most people don’t need to focus more than10% of their time racing.  Why spend over 10% of your time dwelling on it?

Photo: ©istockphoto: Steve Krull

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Tags: bad races, dnf, mental preparation for running, race goals, race habits, race plans, racing, rest, running, taper, time goals

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