I like to picture my post-race celebration while I train for a big event, while I run the big event, and any time I need a little extra motivation during my running journey.
Having a little celebration ritual planned helps keep the end of a race from feeling anti-climactic. Without any planning, you can find yourself rushing home after a race to shower and get lunch on the table like it’s any other day.
My post-race celebration has become pretty simple – I look forward to the moment after the race when I’m showered, comfortable, and can pour myself a celebratory beer. Wearing the race medal is optional. Thinking about how awesome I am during that first sip is not.
It’s a small ritual, it doesn’t take up much time, and it’s compatible with the whole “need to have lunch with the family” thing. But it’s a special moment I look forward to, when I take a moment of silence to appreciate my own accomplishment.
I highly recommend it.
Give yourself something specific to look forward to after a big race. Picture that moment, and how good you’ll feel about the work you put in, while you’re training and racing. Have it help you up the hill, and then when you get to that moment you’ve planned, reflect back on your struggling self and congratulate you on getting to this moment (and knowing that you would).
Pride in yourself is a beautiful thing. It motivates us, makes us stronger, and rewards us for the hard work we put in to being our best selves. Make time for it.
Greg’s race day bag – seeing the contents prompted me to refuse mine.
My Inspiration: I’ve been reading Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson, a blogger/author who systematically reduced her waste to the point where her family no longer owns a trash can. Her book is as overwhelming as it is inspiring, and I often need to remind myself that she took several years to get to the point where her family no longer produced trash.
Her book has so many amazing ideas for ways that we can reduce our own waste, and many of them are just as easy as the wasteful version. I don’t need my soap to come in a box.
Refusing is Better than Recycling: In one of my favorite sections, Johnson discusses the importance of refusing things. Recycling is great, but refusing and reducing is better. I’ve started to apply her “refuse” strategy, and in a short amount of time I’ve appreciated the lack of clutter and obligation to dispose of unwanted, temporary use items.
Do You REALLY Need the Race Day Giveaways? My most recent refusal – I politely declined the race bag at the Maine Half Marathon. I didn’t need all those little freebies, and I own plenty of reusable bags for the grocery store. Many of the free items were individually packaged food items that I don’t even eat, because they’re processed foods with chemical additives, not vegan, or both. What would I do with a little plastic first aid kit? I thought about how many times in the past year I’ve wished I had one… and landed on zero. As a whole foods vegan who has found a line of sports nutrition I love (vega), it didn’t make sense for me to take that bag full of items I would ultimately dispose of or have to find recipients for.
My bib and race medal were the only souvenirs I took from the Maine Half Marathon.
If the Race Shirt doesn’t fit, you won’t wear it. I walked away… and headed over to the technical shirts. Here I was excited, because I could use another long sleeve running shirt (ok I don’t NEED one, but I would definitely wear and enjoy it, so I was ready to bring one home). However, even the women’s small was too big. It was big enough to be unflattering and likely uncomfortable to run in. I decided not to take one. After all, I’d accepted one from the Chilly Half Marathon the year before and never once worn it. Yes, it was free, yes it had the name of a race I enjoyed running on it… and it sat there unused. Better to leave it.
Can I do better next time? Part of me wonders if refusing these items did much good in the long run since they’d already been produced – I wonder about e-mailing race directors in the future and letting them know not to make a bag for me, because I don’t need one. At the very least, someone else can find homes for those products I won’t use, so I’ve saved myself the headache (and heartache) of disposing of them.
Bottled Water & Disposable cups: I did create some waste on race day – I used three of the water station and threw out those paper cups. I could have worn a hydration belt. I’m trying to find as many ways to reduce my family’s waste that work as well or better than the wasteful ways (although some inconvenience is completely worth it.) Am I crazy to consider a fuel belt on race day to save three little paper cups? I run well with it on all my training runs, how much added weight is it really? I wasted a lot of time at the water stations, because I stop to drink the water and have to merge on and off the course through other runners. What if I could take my gel and hydrate while I walked up a hill, and then skip the water station entirely? I would strategically reduce the difficulty of the hill, while saving time later on. It’s worth considering, especially at my pace. (I would be less inclined to run Greg’s speed with water jiggling on my hips the whole time.)
One thing I definitely could have avoided was the bottle of water I accepted at the finish. I refused the disposable foil blanket (I was so close to my family and my gym bag with a sweatshirt). Yet without thinking I accepted the bottled water. I could have easily asked a spectator to hold onto a bottle of fresh water for me at the finish line, they could have kept it right in the stroller. If I didn’t have spectators at a race, I could keep water in my checked bag at gear-check or in the car. Sure, it’d add a few minutes until I got water, but after a 2 hour and 17 minute run, 5 minutes is nothing in the scheme of things. No bottled water for me next time. I’m on this.
I could have skipped that bottled water, I had family right there who would have thrown my reusable water bottle in the stroller for me.
Here Are Some Strategies to Green Your Racing:
Refuse: Don’t accept items you won’t use, even if they’re free.
Reduce: Wear a hydration belt if it’s all the same to you, and have a water bottle stashed somewhere for after you finish so you don’t need to accept bottled water.
Communicate: Tell Race Directors you’d prefer not to have a race goodie bag. Suggest that they let runners fill their bags with only the items that they actually want, by having vendors give out free samples rather than making bags filled in advance. If the technical shirt doesn’t come in a size you’ll wear, mention it to a race volunteer and let them know you’d love to either see it in your size, or have the option to reduce the number of shirts made by opting out during race registration.
Save Money: Don’t buy lots of gear you don’t need at the race expo, especially if the price is more enticing than the style and fit! Do an inventory of your running gear before you hit up the expo to grab your bib. Knowing that you already have 4 long sleeve running shirts, 2 jackets, 1 windbreaker, 3 pairs of capris, etc. can strengthen your resolve not to buy that cute running jacket that’s on sale but was manufactured in China, shipped here on an oil rig, costs you money, and isn’t necessary because you already own three.
It’s not always easy: I am going to be honest – it wasn’t easy saying “no thank you” to the bag of free goodies. But as soon as I walked out of there, that pang of regret faded. I didn’t need any of it, and now I don’t have to find homes for all those unwanted items. Score for me! I made the right choice for me AND it was a green one. Being greener will be easier if you find the most compatible green choices for your personality and lifestyle. I wasn’t about to refuse the race medal, my race medal collection means too much to me right now to sacrifice it to the principles of environmentalism and minimalism. I’m letting go of the things that are easiest to let go of. Think about the environmental impact we can make if everyone does the same.
Happy racing – do good! (And I don’t mean just by running.)
I completed my fourth half marathon! It was a perfect day, with temperatures in the mid-fifties and partly cloudy for most of the race.
Race day strategy: My goal was to head out at my PR pace (around 10:30) and try to pick it up the last few miles if I felt good. Mostly, I was chasing a feeling – I wanted to run strong for the entire race without having to walk. I never walked, although I did stop to drink water at three water stations (I find it just spills everywhere if I run with it, and I am in the way of other runners if I try to walk). Coming into the finish, I thought I was set up for a PR (under 2:16:12) but I hadn’t mathematically adjusted quite enough for the two slow miles I had (with water stops and hills, averaging in the 10:40s for pace) and for the fact that it’s a long course.
13.1 – more like 13.27! Since there are lots of curves and turns, if you’re not running tangents and hitting every corner using the shortest distance to get there, the Maine Half Marathon race course is more than 13.1 miles. My Garmin said I ran 13.27 miles, and that extra .17 cost me some time. It meant the difference between averaging 10:24 pace according to my Garmin vs. 10:31 pace according to my official race results. My time was 2:17:49. I’m happy with that!
I’m learning to pace myself: The good news? I worked hard, and I couldn’t have worked much harder without jeopardizing my ability to finish the race. After crashing at mile 7 of my 3rd half marathon in June, it was really important to me to pace myself and finish the race strong. Racing long distances means finding the balance between working hard enough to finish with no reserves, and not working so hard that you don’t finish. Could I have run a faster race without needing to walk in the last three miles? I’ll never know. But when I woke up at 3:45 this morning to take Advil because my legs hurt, I felt pretty confident that I nailed this race in terms of putting in just enough effort to make it to the finish line on empty.
I’m going to be honest – I didn’t pick it up much until the very end, when Greg came to run me in towards the finish and I could see all my amazing spectators.
Spectators: My in-laws got up at 5:30 a.m. to drive us over to the starting line and watch us race. My parents and my sister watched Will & Andrew overnight (so we could sleep at my in-laws and get rested!) and drove them over to the finish line where they saw both of us finish. (Including the 45 minute wait in between!) My brother and his wife and their two year old and 3 month old came over to watch also! It was a pretty impressive turnout, and I felt grateful that all of these people supported us enough to drive over and stand in the wind and wait for us to cross the finish line. It’s a pretty big deal to me, still, that I’m able to run a half marathon, and it meant the world to me to have ELEVEN people waiting to see me finish! (Ok my youngest niece slept through most of it and MAY not have seen me finish.) What a joy 🙂 It made it very worth traveling to my home state to run! I really had 12 spectators, because Greg’s brother watched us on the course just after the halfway point! I was really touched that he waited to see me go by, because he had to stand at that spot for half an hour after Greg passed him to see me go by. I was so excited that as I ran by him I shouted “I’m running the race! I’m running the race!” He agreed that I was, in fact, running the race.
Greg finished in 1:31:00, 54th overall out of 1977 people and 10th in his age category. He’s amazing and inspirational, and it still cracks me up that I’m actually running the same race he is, regardless of how much longer it takes me.
Will and Andrew watch with my mother in law as Greg runs me towards the finish.
I like to look forward to a shower and a beer after every big race – it’s a ritual I love to think about at mile 12!
Ever since I became a runner in 2012, I’ve been a proverbial fish jumping into bigger and bigger ponds. I got my feet wet with Couch to 5k. Then I jumped into the 10k pond. Now I’m about to run my fourth half marathon.
I’ve always identified myself as a “slow” runner, in part because as a beginner, I really was starting and finishing towards the back when I ran my first races. As soon as I accomplished one distance, I started working towards the next. Since I was working hard just to get to the start line, sure enough I was starting at the back with the rest of the new-to-that-distance-runners.
If I’m not careful, it can feel that despite all my hard work, I’m not making progress. After all, two years of running later, I’m still starting at the back.
Motivated people do this to ourselves all the time. As soon as we achieve something, we start reaching for the next achievement, surrounding ourselves with people who are already successful in that field and learning from them. No matter how big a fish we become, we always feel small because we keep jumping into the next pond.
Sound like you?
Stop.
Turn around.
Look at all the little fish and small ponds behind you.
According to numbers from statista.com and quickfacts.census.gov, there are approximately 300 million people in the United States over the age of 5, and only 54 million of them participate in running or jogging. That’s 18% of people, which means if you’re jogging at all, you’re a faster runner than 3 out of every 5 people you meet.
Running USA states that in 2013 only 1.9 million people finished a half marathon (which was a record high). That means that if you jog 13.1 miles, regardless of how long it takes you to finish, you’re accomplishing something that only .6% of people in the United States did last year. (that’s POINT 6 percent… make sure you look at the point!) According to the New York Times, If you were in the top 1 percent of earners in the US, your household income would be over $383,000 a year. No small fish.
So when I meander towards the back of the pack at the starting line on Sunday, I will turn around and think about the millions of people who would be behind me. The millions of people not running. Sure, I’m running 10:30’s and all my twitter friends are running 7 and 8 minute miles, but that’s because I dove headfirst into their pond, not because I’m not awesome.
And pretty soon, I’ll sign up for a 5k, where I now start right in the middle and race in the low 9’s. Then I can remind myself that it took swimming in a bigger pond to feel comfortable in that one.
I can’t wait for Sunday. I will to put my bib number on. I will find myself a place at the rear of the pack. I will applaud myself for being there and racing the same event as the elite athletes that are starting out at the front. They’ve earned their place, and I’ve earned mine.
Turn around. Look where you come from. Go back sometimes and visit the small pond; enjoy being a larger fish while you’re there. Be proud when you look at the incredible athletes you’re now joining on the race course. Be proud of your tenacity for doing something you’re not the best at, because you love it and it makes you healthier and stronger.
And on race day, remember: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”
Standing like this for a minute before the race could improve your performance. Photo by Thatcher Cook for Pop Tech / CC 2.0
I’m always looking for running hacks – ways to improve my running that aren’t, well, running. I’ve found one I can’t wait to try.
My inspiration comes from one of the most popular TED talks of all time, social psychologist and Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy’s talk titled “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.”
Summary: Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist who is interested in non-verbal expressions of power dominance. She found that prior to a stressful event (like a job interview) people who posed for two minutes in a high power position (arms open or outstretched, taking up space, making yourself bigger) vs. a low power position (arms crossed, poor posture, making yourself smaller) had decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and performed significantly better in the interview. (Start watching at 12:00 to see the recap of the experiment.)
Through her work Cuddy has discovered that “Our bodies change our minds, our minds change our behavior, our behavior changes our outcomes.” Her research demonstrates that people who adopt power poses prior to a stressful event have measurable positive chemical changes in their brains, and that these changes increase their success and how they’re perceived by others.
Later in the speech she addresses the concept of “faking it until you become it”, and accepting that you’re not FAKING it, you’re removing the inhibitions that prevented your real self, ideas, and capabilities from shining through.
THIS IS SO COOL. When we’re nervous and anxious it’s harder to put our best selves forward. Cuddy has found a life-hack that allows us to boost our chances of success just by standing with our arms outstretched in a power pose for a few minutes before we enter a rough situation.
Application: Give yourself the best chance of race day success. Step off to the side somewhere, pretend you’re doing some sort of stretching, and make yourself as big as possible. Hold your arms up and out stretched, feet wide, and lean left and right a couple times to make it look normal. Think some positive thoughts about how many miles of training you have behind you for good measure. You can also do the less obvious “wonder woman pose” where you stand with your feet spread slightly apart and your hands on your hips.
A lot of racing is mental. I know my legs can make it 13.1 miles on Sunday, I don’t know how fast my mind will encourage them to get there. Will I slow down because I feel discouraged, or will I push through? Will I confidently push the pace, believing I will still make it to the finish, or will I handicap myself out of concern? If I do start out a little too fast, will I be able to tell myself it’s all right and just slow down, or will I take it as a sign that I should give up and walk/jog to the finish? My legs didn’t feel too bad the day after my last half marathon. Physically, I didn’t push as hard as I could have, because mentally, my confidence broke at mile 7 and I just meandered towards the finish line.
So you better believe I’ll be off to the side before we start doing power poses to lower my cortisol, boost my confidence, and give my my mind the best chance of pushing my body confidently towards the finish line. After all, it’s only a two minute investment!
