This past year of running has been pretty good to me.
I trained hard, upped my mileage a bit (then dropped it back down), set some PRs for the first time in four years, broke 5 minutes in the mile (and then did it some more for good measure), qualified for my first NCAA Nationals (where I promptly placed last), got through some tough mental blocks, and gave a new event a try. So forgive me if I didn’t expect to land face down on the track – metaphorically and literally (see picture below) – this past weekend at conference. But that’s exactly what I did. And it felt bad.
Not only did I let my team down, scoring three points instead of my approximate projected nine, but I also just didn’t put myself in any position to succeed. At all. I was a freshman again, making clumsy mistakes and being my own worst enemy. Walking off the line after by far my worst race of the year – at the exact wrong time – was so tough.
But now, a few days after the fact and with both my bruised ego and heel on the mend, I can say it wasn’t all bad.
Or, more accurately, it won’t be all bad. As long as I take what I did and learn from it.
One of the best things I did as a high school runner was my race reflections. After every single meet, I would pull out my handy little notebook and dutifully write the details of the race. Then I would dive into it, identifying the three things I did well (yay, mini-wins!) and the three things I could improve upon. It was a good way for me to celebrate what I was doing but also to remember exactly what I shouldn’t be doing come my next race.
In recent years, I’ve gotten away from that habit, instead preferring to jot a couple of notes in my running log about the race. I don’t force myself to pin-point three successes and three places to improve. But after this weekend, I returned to high school me and did a deep-dive into my results.
Why did the most important meet of my outdoor season turn out so poorly?
And while I’m not going to make that information widely available (it is for me and, at this point, me alone), trust me when I say that I did identify the good and bad from the weekend and the days leading up to it. In doing so, I’m hopeful that those will become guiding lessons for me, things I can use now and in the future to improve in all aspects of life, running related or not.
For now though, it’s a couple days to rest and recover and let the lessons marinate a bit longer. Until I can put the bad result to good use and (if all goes well) not repeat those mistakes again!
Is there any lesson you’ve taken from a time when something hasn’t gone your way? If so, drop it in the comments below!
CALLIN NADDY 