Getting Race Ready Part 5: When Race Day Isn't Your Day

by Jennifer Gill

October 13, 2008

I decided to write a Part 5 to my "Race Ready" series concerning race-day letdown. This is an important aspect of racing that many people don't think about.

I can speak a lot about this because I've had some bad luck in some of my races this year, the most recent being yesterday in the Chicago Marathon.

A lot of my races this year were during the summer and happened to take place on very hot, humid days. I do not respond well to racing in this kind of weather. Yesterday was no different. Chicago is experiencing an Indian Summer and was very warm yesterday. So between that and some injuries I have to both feet, I didn't fare as well as I'd hoped.

I think it's important to address the disappointment that is felt when a race doesn't go your way. There is a lot of negative emotion associated with not racing as well as you had hoped, obviously, but for some this can be just as debilitating as an injury.

Sometimes, it's very hard for a runner to accept a poor performance. We question our ability, our dedication, our desire. I think this is really unfair because sometimes a bad race is completely beyond your control. And when a bad race is the result of something that could have been controlled, then it's a lesson learned.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be upset when a race doesn't go our way. I think we should definitely use that emotion to train better and possibly approach racing differently. But a bad race shouldn't equate to failure or opportunities lost. There will always be another race around the corner. We just need to be patient, which isn't easy for us runners.

I saw so many signs yesterday that were motivational but two really defined the day. One read, "The marathon: 10% physical, 90% mental, 100% awesome."  This is very true, of any race of any length.  Completing any race, no matter what the result, is an accomplishment and should be treated as such. The other read, "Leave the old you behind." This one really meant a lot to me because I feel that no matter how well or how badly your race goes, you're never the same person you were when you crossed the starting line.  Being a runner is so much more than running a race and we learn so much about ourselves throughout the entire journey.  

Stay tuned for my full report of my Chicago Marathon experience. I met a number of wonderful people, famous runners and fellow marathoners, and can't wait to tell you all about it.

Happy running!

Examiner