I tell my kids all the time life, in general, is not about being better than someone else. I tell them if they want to beat someone, beat themselves. Do better this time than they did last time. I tell them not to compare themselves to others. And I tell myself this too. It's not about how many people I pass or who I finished before. It's about how I did in relation to myself. Mostly. Because, I do have a little competitive streak.
Over Easter weekend, our lives were crazy. We had company in town, my older son had a tennis tournament that lasted two days, our daughters had a dance competition that lasted all day Saturday, and it was Easter. I needed to have my girls to their dance competition by 8:30 with our older daughter being ready to dance. That meant that I needed to be home to help her and keep her calm. Translation: no Saturday morning training run. The run would need to be done on Friday. My favorite running partner had to work that Friday so I headed out alone. Not my favorite thing but I really don't mind when it happens periodically.
I head out about 6:45-ish. I head out for the usual run. Ironman St. George 70.3 is the first weekend in May. My favorite training run just happens to be part of the Ironman bike and running course. That means that right now there tends to be quite a few people out running on the course. About 4 1/2 miles into my run there's a guy a head of my that was running toward me then crosses the road and turns around. Dead giveaway that he's training for Ironman. For a fleeting moment I contemplated what it would take to catch and pass him but upon watching his cadence and knowing the hills I have to climb still, I opted out of that and set out to run my run. After all, it's not a competition. Just passed mile five, there's a hill and it can be brutal. It lasts about 6/10 of a mile and has a decent grade. The guy ahead of me ran it and stopped at its crest. I continued saying "Morning" as I passed. I figured he'd eventually continue down the trail but really didn't give him another thought. Until he passed me nearly a mile and a half later. Again I thought about giving him a run for his money but I still had about half my run to complete and, again, it's not a competition. At mile seven, I crest the last hill for roughly four miles. I fueled as I ran and as I'm cruising down the hill I decide to use the downhill and kick my speed up. Again, I considered trying to catch the guy. When I got a little farther ahead I could see him again and he was about two blocks-ish ahead of me. I decided catching him wasn't my goal but pushing myself a little was. Slowly, with my 80's playlist pushing me forward, I started closing the gap between us. It took me awhile to realize that I actually was closing the gap. And then I knew I would pass him. I was moving too quickly. He never saw me coming. I almost feel badly. His ego probably took a slight hit when I passed him. Anyway, it made my solo run interesting and before I knew it, I was home.
Now, I do not advocate doing what I did. It wasn't very nice. But, having a goal is a good idea. I didn't set out trying to beat anyone. I usually don't make it a point to make other people a part of my goal. I like to better me, to try to be stronger or faster or more mentally strong. Every once in awhile, I get a little competitive and something like this happens. I try not to. But have a goal in mind when you head out to run. Conquer that hill. Sprint home. Whatever your goal is, achieve it.
Thanks for checking in with me. Let me know how you are doing with your goals and if you have questions or comments. Good luck on whatever you are working toward. Come back again soon!
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