Don’t let a bad race get you down. The last thing you need when training is self-doubt. This past weekend I had a sub-par performance at a local 5k race. Afterwards, I had to take some time to put the day into perspective and push it out of my mind in order to move on. Here is how I did it.
I made a list of the negatives from the day.
- It was cold.
- I was battling a chest cold and my lungs were on fire.
- I didn’t spend enough time warming up.
- My friends Chuck, Mario and Glen completely kicked my butt.
- It was the slowest 5k I have run in several years.
Then I made a list of positives.
- This was not a key race on my schedule.
- The scenery at the race was incredible, including horse pastures and even a horseback rider dressed in full fox hunt attire.
- There was no ice on the road like last year.
- My friends Chuck, Mario and Glen ran awesome races.
- I got to spend time with my friends and cheer on fellow runners.
- I talked with a gentleman about RunningDad.com and The Lucas Fund.
After pulling out the positives, I was able to see that it was not a bad day at all. I’ll file it under “cold training run” and move on. I’ll catch those guys next time.
