For those of you who watched the Boston Marathon, you witnessed Kim Smith’s smooth stride open up as she separated herself from the rest of the field. From the gun, Smith pounded that Boston pavement so relentlessly that at times; she led by up to one minute – an incredible amount in such a talented field.
Photo: PrettySporty
However, at mile fifteen, Smith suddenly faltered as her leg gave out beneath her. She tried to regain composure but her pace slowed and it wasn’t long before Smith was not only caught by the lead pack but, left in their dust. Not long after, Smith was forced to drop out and winning the Boston Marathon, a feat she so strongly believed she could conquer (and appeared to be easily achieving for over half of the race), was suddenly out of reach. It was gut wrenching to watch Smith’s stride break but, it was during her post-race interview that my heart officially sank. As she tried to compose herself for reporters, Smith’s eyes welled with tears while her face screamed with complete and utter despair.
Although most of us haven’t had to face disappointment at this level, the majority of us have experienced (and will experience) disappointing race performances that leave us feeling pretty empty inside. Questions and doubts surrounding what happened? Who do I think I am taking a race out like that? Why did I ever think I could run 10km? Will I ever run well again? And, can I even call myself a runner? fill your head. You suddenly question everything you thought that you knew about running and, your love/hate relationship for the sport suddenly seems vastly skewed.
Furthermore, it seems as though no matter how many great performances you’ve had in the past, they no longer matter; good races are shoved out of your mind to make room for the overbearing space that this single bad performance will occupy. Kim Smith is a 4-time NCAA champion and 2-time New Zealand Olympian yet for years to come, it will be the 2011 Boston Marathon that Smith thinks of the most. The bad always seems to trump the good.
Having experienced a few poor performances of my own and, in my new attempt to see the world through a “glass half full” lens, I have come to view bad performances differently and in turn, am able to bounce back from them more quickly than in the past. In a nutshell, I believe that poor performances do not exist to punish or break us down. Rather, I believe that they exist so that we are able to use them as a vehicle to build our endurance and in turn, push ourselves to achieve a personal greatness we hadn’t thought possible.
Think of it like this: a bad performance = feeling down + doubting our ability to perform well in the future. While this is natural, (if we were not fazed by a poor performance, it would indicate that our hearts truly aren’t in it), I think that this doubt can manifest itself in two ways and it is important to differentiate;
1) After a bad performance, we become too afraid to ever experience that again so we opt to never push ourselves outside of our comfort zone. Sure, we may never experience a really bad performance again but, we will also never surpass mediocrity.
OR
2) We can view our poor performance as an opportunity to push ourselves beyond this wall and gain endurance. For example, Kim Smith is probably quite nervous to run her next marathon. She could stick to half marathons from now on or, she could run another marathon and once she gets past that 15 mile marker, her endurance will grow incredibly and with that, she is putting herself in the position to achieve greatness.
Now that we are all on the same page and not viewing bad performances as the devil, here are a few tips that I have found to help bounce back from poor performances:
- In running there are so many facets that come into play and so many components that need to come together at the same time in order to have an “on” day. Think of all the good runs, workouts and races that you do have and what your body does for you day in and day out. Pretty amazing. You are a human not a robot. Be thankful!
- Talk to yourself the way you would to a friend. As a team captain, I had many conversations with teammates after they had a bad race. Because I had seen their workouts and knew their talent, I could look them in the eye and genuinely tell them not to sweat it – that the next one would be better (and usually it was). Why should I treat myself any different?
- Negative energy is toxic. If after a poor performance you carry around negative feelings and doubt, chances are, the energy you are wasting focusing on negativity will take the place of the energy you can put into having good runs and workouts. Not to mention, someone that carries around negative energy is just not pleasant to be around so…don’t be that person!
- Chalk it up as a bad race. Plain and simple.
If all else fails, I like to call on the Jamaican bobsled team for their words of wisdom. Look yourself in the mirror and say, “I’m a bad ass runner who don’t take no $#@% from nobody”. Hey, if nothing else you will feel ridiculous saying it and whether you like it or not, you will smile. Go find a mirror and say it NOW. You smiled didn’t you?
#1BrianApril 29, 2011, 7:01 am
Great Article Nikki. Loved the truth and the positive vibes.
#2DerekMay 4, 2011, 8:26 pm
I think not being negitive is very important and I know a lot of people don’t want to come up with excuses for a bad race, but sometimes you need to figur-out what went wrong…I went out too fast, it was windy so the times were a little slower, I didn’t get the sleep I needed leading up to the race. Talk to your coach about it, because if you can’t come up with any reasons for a poor performance something is wrong and when you do come up with a few reasons for a poor performance you can use this new knowledge so that you don’t make some of the same mistakes.
#3BrandonMay 4, 2011, 10:53 pm
Well said Derek. I think most runners choose to learn the hard way. Learning from our mistakes, or other’s mistakes for that matter is the key to longevity in our sport. Thanks for your comment.