This morning, I went to a nearby high school track for my ladder workout. Now I’m reflecting on it in my log, and I start with, “Obviously, I didn't do the 5-min. interval planned, but THIS IS NOT A FAILURE, as Steve Magness points out…” Thanks as always for the reminder about how to evaluate even the most routine workout, let alone a race. Also, the mismatch you described with the athlete you coached reminds me of an online conversation I had with Neely Spence Gracey, who coached me for many years. In 2017, I ran a half-marathon in Tucson, one of those crazy Revel downhill races. My training had gone well, and I finished in 1:53:44, at the age of 56, about eight years after my PR of 1:53:30. I almost cried because I was so close to a shiny new PR and didn’t get it. Neely was over the moon because I was so close.
Steve - thanks for this. It’s helpful for me - a 58 year old runner and business person who has gone through a lot of stuff in his life. But it would have been even more valuable for a 25 year old me. Or for my daughters, who are 19 and going to be 21 next week. Keep sharing this great content!
Another thing I think thats relevant with the debrief is the benefit of an associated sense of process. If you debrief in the same way after best performance and worst performance, it helps reinforce that perspective of not getting too up or too down based on results. I'm going to do the same thing no matter how this goes.
This morning, I went to a nearby high school track for my ladder workout. Now I’m reflecting on it in my log, and I start with, “Obviously, I didn't do the 5-min. interval planned, but THIS IS NOT A FAILURE, as Steve Magness points out…” Thanks as always for the reminder about how to evaluate even the most routine workout, let alone a race. Also, the mismatch you described with the athlete you coached reminds me of an online conversation I had with Neely Spence Gracey, who coached me for many years. In 2017, I ran a half-marathon in Tucson, one of those crazy Revel downhill races. My training had gone well, and I finished in 1:53:44, at the age of 56, about eight years after my PR of 1:53:30. I almost cried because I was so close to a shiny new PR and didn’t get it. Neely was over the moon because I was so close.
Steve - thanks for this. It’s helpful for me - a 58 year old runner and business person who has gone through a lot of stuff in his life. But it would have been even more valuable for a 25 year old me. Or for my daughters, who are 19 and going to be 21 next week. Keep sharing this great content!
Kyle
Thanks so much. So glad you found it helpful. That’s the goal!
Nice article Steve, plenty of simple helpful tips
Another thing I think thats relevant with the debrief is the benefit of an associated sense of process. If you debrief in the same way after best performance and worst performance, it helps reinforce that perspective of not getting too up or too down based on results. I'm going to do the same thing no matter how this goes.