Those precious few seconds....

carsfan

Ran the marathon in Limerick last weekend in 3,20.58.
This was my second marathon and was 10 minutes faster than Waterford last year so I really should be delighted, but I'm not.
I was on course to finish 3 or 4 minutes faster until mile 23 when cramps in first my right and then left hamstrings stopped me in my tracks and I had to stop, stretch and then trot gingerly to the finish, cramping up again periodically.
My goal was to target a low 3,20 ish time, so really fulfilled my goal but missing out on going even faster has consumed me all week.
This got me thinking.
Do all of us want to go faster all the time or is it just the competing that spurs us on?
I am 43 and never going to win a race but really want to shave those seconds off my times all the time.These race times are irrelevant to anyone but me yet every second off is precious.
Do others train and race placing the same importance on their personal times or is a pb just a happy bonus if it happens for most?

lbucko

I'm the same, I'm not going to be setting any records but always looking to beat my previous times. Find it near impossible to hold back in a race. Set a time way faster than I was expecting in DCM last year yet was still disappointed I didn't shave a few more mins off it. I try to be a bit more sensible with my training runs.

PVincent

You just need to look at your achievement in a much more positive way. Firstly it is a PB and you did achieve the target you set yourself. What you need to do is to stop thinking that you would have gone faster without the cramping, but rather look it another way...you achieved your PB DESPITE the cramping. It's only mind games and perception but in running , it's a massive mindset change to do it. But it's what you should be aiming to do ..find the positive rather than the negative in everything you do in races or in training sessions. You should be looking at that last marathon and be saying to yourself that I have a great chance to really improve on that the next time , rather than looking back at something that will never change now that it is over. To run a PB , generally everything has to fall into place, ie , pacing , hydration , nutrition , your training plan, the conditions of the course and the weather, etc ...if anyone of these is compromised then it makes that PB a little more difficult to achieve. So put this PB to bed , and look forward. The other thing that you need to establish with some degree of certainty is , what actually was the reason for the cramping . Was it something you were lacking, was it pushing too hard .. That then removes that negative scenario from your next race if you indent iffy the cause . Hope this helps you ..celebrate the PB and be proud of yourself . 26.2 miles is tough at any time and anytime you run faster than you ran before is a day to be cherished.

amcgee

carsfan wrote: »

Ran the marathon in Limerick last weekend in 3,20.58.
This was my second marathon and was 10 minutes faster than Waterford last year so I really should be delighted, but I'm not.
I was on course to finish 3 or 4 minutes faster until mile 23 when cramps in first my right and then left hamstrings stopped me in my tracks and I had to stop, stretch and then trot gingerly to the finish, cramping up again periodically.
My goal was to target a low 3,20 ish time, so really fulfilled my goal but missing out on going even faster has consumed me all week.
This got me thinking.
Do all of us want to go faster all the time or is it just the competing that spurs us on?
I am 43 and never going to win a race but really want to shave those seconds off my times all the time.These race times are irrelevant to anyone but me yet every second off is precious.
Do others train and race placing the same importance on their personal times or is a pb just a happy bonus if it happens for most?

Firstly well done on a great time, and by the sounds of it, you probably lost a minute or two their with your leg issues towards the end, so you already have a taget for the next one, 3:18 or so, and it sounds realistic for you, its always good coming off a race thinking..bloody thats a good time and i could do better. spurs you on

i ran the race and finished 6 minutes behing you in 3:26, and was as fresh crossing the line as i ever will be and felt i could have gone on for a few more miles. i beat my last time by 24 minutes but thats mostly down to a bad first marathon. So i have being thinking since did i push myself enough or could i have gone faster. My original aim for limerick was to run a full marathon without taking a 5 minutes sleeping break as i did in cork, so i ran a great race, used my head throughout and paced myself correctly thoughout. similarly to you, the big question is how much do you want to break you pb's.
I liked finishing the race and not falling over the line with nothing left, knowing that the next time i can aim for a slighly faster time. i am 42 and will never be a sub 3 hour man or even a sub 3:15 given the committment you would need to do to get near those time,although i would fancy a crack at sub 3:15 though.. even if it meant not finishing the race. maybe limerick again next year!, but my aim will be for a sub 3:30 for Dublin
its always good to aim to pb, i pb's by 24minutes this time, next time i would be happy with a 24 second faster time
good luck

Micilin Muc

I ran 3:20:23 eighteen months ago and kind of beat myself up about it. The reality is you ran within 58 seconds of your target which is very accurate for a race of 26 miles. Most runners are minutes, or tens of minutes off their target in a marathon, whether under or over that target.

I haven't beaten that time yet, but my 23 seconds are totally insignificant now. I don't why I bothered beating myself up about it! It's a waste of energy!

jebuz

carsfan wrote: »

Do others train and race placing the same importance on their personal times or is a pb just a happy bonus if it happens for most?

Interesting question. Personally I think it's a combination of both. I am always striving to get faster and hit PB's primarily for my own fulfilment because it naturally feels good to hit goals. At the moment for me, this is my primary motivation.

On the other hand, we are humans and thus naturally crave the approval and respect from others and maybe placing well in a race achieves just that. Runners like looking at results thinking 'wow I'm in the top x %, it feels great'. Placing is a huge motivation in a race scenario and it's amazing the energy you can muster sometimes to make up a few places on the finishing straight.

So yeah I think both play their part, in different doses depending on the individual. Perhaps the balance shifts to placing at the business end of the field where emphasis is more on finishing in the top 3 rather than a PB, at that level I guess PB's are less frequent anyway.