Vanish when you can, it’s good for the soul. ~ Dean Karnazes

Mountain hike always cures whatever’s ailing.  Mental fix, physical reset.

Hour drive thru Boulder Canyon, trailhead parking in Nederland center.  Backpack, snacks & my best pal Ro.  Super cool [that] Ned provides a free shuttle to Hesse Trailhead (dogs allowed onboard) – no chance of parking my super-sized Ford, even if I did show early.  HA!

Late day start after morning’s a.m. return from Cincy.  Whole lotta folks with the same idea.  Labour Day weekend, elevation/thin air, Colorado sunshine.  Dig our outdoor community.  Busy trail.

Easy 4 miles.  Kicked back at Lost Lake; shared a sandwich with Pup.  Waterfall stop on the hike return.  Water still flowing high late in the season.  Fingers crossed, heavy snow again this year.

One more run-free day, then back at it.  Saskatchewan this weekend.

LOVE LOVE my Colorado life (kinda crushin’ on Canada too 🍁).

So You Had A Crappy Race … Now What?

DAVID ROCHE SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2019

 

If I’m asked what the most important attribute is for an athlete, I have a simple answer: “Belief.”  You put it all on a start line, and you proceed to crash and burn.  Your time sucks.  Maybe you have to DNF.

 

1. Accept uncertainty.

Races aren’t tests, they’re celebrations.  They are celebrations of life, existence, and yes…uncertainty itself.  So give yourself permission to celebrate no matter how the day actually unfolds.

2. It’s OK to grieve.

You can know all of that celebration stuff intuitively, but it still stings when a day doesn’t turn out how you had hoped.  It’s healthy to let yourself feel your emotions, even the bad ones. You aren’t being dramatic when you get a little depressed after races.  Give yourself time to get to acceptance.  And it’s no rush either.

3. Your fitness is your best day, not your worst.

There’s a temptation to use bad races to judge your fitness, thinking that the day gives you a benchmark from which you can evaluate your progress. Bad race? Bad athlete. Bad training.  That’s not how the body works, though.

4. Bad races can be good training days.

The physiological reason why so many breakthrough races follow poor ones is uncertain.  It could be neuromuscular.  Whatever it is, you can use that race stress to get stronger and faster.

5. You are heroic.

…the bad races are where the magic happens, where you learn and grow and get the resolve to make a courageous leap of self belief.  So if you can, try to celebrate bad races most of all.  That is when you become a hero in your own story.