Let's say you had to pack in training for competition tomorrow and just jog easy 3 times per week.
Looking back on your races and other parts of your running life, what would you give yourself out of 10 for what you have achieved relative to your goals?
I would have 7/10 at the moment. Many many highlights and good experiences - pbs, county medals, targets achieved, friends made, races run, competitions within races, camaraderie of relays.
The missing 3 would be from a feeling that I never quite raced the times I thought I was fit enough to do at 10, 10 miles and marathon, and spent a bit too much time worrying about outcomes instead of process (although the last 2 contradict)!
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9/10, mind you I had a good week last week, otherwise it would "only" have been 8.
Last time round, giving up at age 28 (now 56), I felt I had given it 9.5/10 (apart from THAT marathon). Despite that, I did go through a period of self delusion about 10 years later when I thought I had underachieved. In retrospect I now realise that was b*llocks.
Now if I could only break 50mins for 10 miles...that would be something...11/10 perhaps?
...so get used to it!!
;o)
;o)
how cool is that!!!!
:-D
Its not been bad not really
thats a bloody good mark from me
So you can feel really good about yourself!
Thanks
But you'll have a go at answering it anyway. Good man:)
er
right,im off to bed
- High altitude training
- Indoor competition
- Sprint
- Middle distance running
- Track league
- Running with disabled
- Coaching youngsters
- Ultra marathon scene
- Fell running
- Run in custome
- Charity runner
...
The disappointments would be not having done myself justice in certain races and not having had a chance to put those performances right.
- Indoor competition
- Sprint
- Middle distance running
- Track league
- Running with disabled
- Coaching youngsters
- Ultra marathon scene
- Fell running
- Run in custome
- Charity runner
...
Refereeing
Race organisation
Marshalling
Club organisation
...
So you can't really judge satisfaction in a running life until you've done all of those?
OK, I'm not the fastest, but I have run times a lot of people can only dream of. I never would've dreamt I'd do a 1:23 HM, I still can't believe that day, amazing. Like I was floating on air.
The only thing I've "won" has been a first male team prize, but s0d it, I've had a laugh, I've got one hell of a lot fitter, I've got the souvenirs and some great memories. I've proved a lot to myself.
Regrets are for boobies. Don't wallow in what might have been, and remember the enjoyment.
Everybody has to answer that themselves. Personally, I think you can't rate satisfaction without knowing some of the other areas. For example, say someone only did marathons for 10 years and finally gets bored and thinks of hanging up his racings flats, without knowing what XC is or how much fun mountain running can be.
Run on a beach at dawn
Run from one country to another
Run in a race with your children/parents/grandparents
Run around an island...........
I am not particularly satisfied with my times, but I am extremely satisfied with my running in general....
Currently would give myself 1 or 2 out of 10. I can't run for 10 miles without stopping.
- but i don't think that counts as an international vest
my concusion -race performances = *minus* 53 out of 10
couple of 5k's where i was almost last
however,
have run on a beach at sunset a few times
and run in a race with my son
so maybe it's not all bad
Didn't win nuffink.
Except, mobility for a time, self respect, and a moment in the sun.
Guess I've won a lot, really.
When I started running 5 years ago my goal was simply to beat 3 hours for a marathon. At the time this goal was extremely stretching. It took 3 attempts and 3 years and it certainly doesn't seem stretching now.
Anything else is a bonus now!
As Bryan says, what's the point in having regrets. You can't change the past, so why dwell on it.
Quite good at squeezing every drop out of sparse available free time, and at pacing races to go quite a lot faster than I have any reasonable right to expect.
Some stupid avoidable injuries and needlessly wasted races, but that's all part of the fun.