This week’s mile is a tough one. Whether you are just starting out, or have tons of experience, the tendency to compare yourself to other runners is there. Of course it’s there. We run races, where you come in first, second or five hundredth. There’s friendly rivalry with our runner friends on Garmin to #BeatYesterday. On social media, we all have the tendency to only post the great runs, and not the ones that beat you up a little bit. We can put out an unrealistic reality that others try to compare to.
It is easy to get pulled into the not so healthy place of comparing yourself to other runners.
STOP IT! Right now! The only person you need to compare yourself to is yourself. And even then, you need to do it correctly. Conditions one race to another might be vastly different. You might be coming back from an injury. Or just having an off day. And, of course, just dealing with normal aging! Let me tell you, I was not running very well with a newborn at home waking every few hours each night a couple of years ago. I was a few years younger so could handle it. But wow, if I had to run the distances I am doing now on the sleep I was getting then, I don’t think I could do it.
I use my faster runner friends as inspiration to pick up the pace a bit. And I know they use me to tack on a few extra miles to their long run. There is nothing wrong with getting a bit of motivation from other runners. But, if you start down the path of comparing your runs with the unrealistic reality we see in the world, all you are going to do is get yourself all turned around. You’ll either get down on yourself for not living up to that expectation, or you’ll get comfortable and not push yourself to improve.
Sharing your accomplishments with your friends is awesome and amazing and I know that I don’t do that to make others feel bad or to compare my achievements to yours. They are just different. So, you don’t know what that person’s goals are who keeps looping by you on the track one day. They might be training for a completely different distance or type of race than you are. Just give them a smile, wave or a high five and keep on going. Admire what they are doing, and hope they are doing the same for you.
