March 13, 2019
It’s starting to look like RACE SEASON!
I have confession.
I spent years over-racing. It’s scary to think that these medals were collected in a very short amount of time and are mostly longer events…add on DOZENS of shorter races sprinkled in!
I fully admit it. I love the rush of the finish line. I love the community of athletes and spectators. I love collecting the race paraphernalia….from the shirts to the medals. And I tend to overdo what I am passionate about. Thank goodness I have found a team of coaches to hold me accountable and call me on my shit.
As a coach I want to share one piece of advice.
DON’T OVERDO IT.
Go back to your A Race. Look at your schedule. Are you doing a Spring Marathon? A half marathon could very well fit into the big picture as a B Race.
Not 3 half marathons.
Not racing 5K’s every other weekend and trying to work your long run around it and still have energy for a bike ride and spending time with family.
I understand. I get excited at the local road races seeing all of my friends after a long winter. I have old favorites that I miss running every year.
But don’t forget your A Race. That is the priority. That doesn’t mean you can’t run a couple of your favorites on the way there. But choose those favorites carefully!
While momentarily fun, over racing leads to fatigue, injury, and burn out. After a couple of years of overdoing it, I found myself needing to take a year or so off to refresh.
Not sure? Talk to your COACH about which options work best. Maybe it starts with getting a coach if you have always been a self coached athlete. The most successful people in life have a coach. Because we all need help figuring it out.
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