Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda

Since Sunday, I had been contemplating whether to post a report about the Condura race at all. It was of course very well organized and one of the best races I’ve joined, and the organizers deserve all our congratulations. However, it was also quite a disappointing performance for me. I had written up several drafts and I wasn’t happy with what I wrote since I couldn’t quite express how I felt about my run. Then I read Javy’s Falling Short post and I decided finally to share my own story.

I had hoped to equal or surpass my previous half marathon PR but things did not fall into place this time. I can only blame myself for the things I did and did not do prior to the race: I should have stretched more to avoid the tight hamstrings, I should have put in more miles on the road to build endurance, I shouldn’t have eaten that huge meal the night before the race that made me feel bloated and heavy that morning. In my eagerness to hit a PR, I didn’t pace myself properly and I found myself walking a lot during the last 10K. I also suffered a side stitch that wouldn’t go away for most of the run. I was helpless as I watched runner after runner go past me.

I checked my log when I got home and I confirmed my suspicion that the past few months, I ran some of my long runs faster than my race that morning, including my last long run the previous week where I completed 21k 6 minutes faster.

Running, like life, will have its ups and downs. We just figure out the lessons to be learned and try to avoid making the same mistakes. We move on and try to forget the disappointments. After all, there will be many other races to run, other opportunities for redemption.

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