#113 - Join me as I talk about looking beyond just your finish time when measuring success of a race and my experience preparing for the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon. Crossing the finish line of the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon didn't just mark the end of a race; it was the culmination of a journey filled with sweat, strategy, and self-discovery.
Topics Covered:
Hear my experience about what success meant to me
Listen to my story about improving my preparation and execution
Learn how I replaced negative self talk with positive affirmations
What’s next for me in racing and podcasting
Richard Conner
Richard is a strategic marketing professional with experience in B2B marketing. Richard is the founder of Inspire to Run and is passionate about helping others reach their goals. He is a Connecticut native and is a husband, dad, writer, Star Wars fan, and of course - runner! Richard recently discovered obstacle course racing and has fully embraced this new obsession.
“Inspire to Run Podcast is truly inspiring!” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the healthy life that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
#113 - Join me as I talk about looking beyond just your finish time when measuring success of a race and my experience preparing for the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon. Crossing the finish line of the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon didn't just mark the end of a race; it was the culmination of a journey filled with sweat, strategy, and self-discovery.
Topics Covered:
Hear my experience about what success meant to me
Listen to my story about improving my preparation and execution
Learn how I replaced negative self talk with positive affirmations
What’s next for me in racing and podcasting
Richard Conner
Richard is a strategic marketing professional with experience in B2B marketing. Richard is the founder of Inspire to Run and is passionate about helping others reach their goals. He is a Connecticut native and is a husband, dad, writer, Star Wars fan, and of course - runner! Richard recently discovered obstacle course racing and has fully embraced this new obsession.
“Inspire to Run Podcast is truly inspiring!” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move toward the healthy life that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Hi, my friend, Welcome to Inspire to Run podcast. I'm so excited, I'm so energized because I just ran the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon this past weekend and it's the second time that I ran this race and I've really been reflecting on it and thinking about my performance in the race and just in general, thinking about, like, how do I, or how do others define success in a race? And you know, for some, if maybe they're elite runners, maybe they define success by getting a podium spot. If they're, if you're intermediate runner, you may be thinking about how do I PR, how do I do better than I did in the last race? And maybe, if you're a beginner, you just want to finish the race. So you may have just different criteria for how you define success, but more times than not, you may think that success is based on your time. So I've been really reflecting on that, because that's been true in my case. It's always been well, this is the target that I have, but there are a lot of other factors that could lead to a successful race and we talked a little bit about it on the show with past guests, as well as in Instagram lives, and I just wanted to share kind of my just kind of my story and just kind of my experience in this last race and leading up to it and kind of what I consider success. So I'll tell you a little bit about how I did first and then tell you a little bit about my process.
Speaker 1:
So, in terms of how I define success, first and foremost was my time. So I was looking to improve my time, which was about an hour and 57 from last year, and I felt like, showing up to the race last year, I did just everything wrong leading up to the race and I'll talk a little bit about that. So this year I wanted to correct all of that, thinking that if I do that it will result in a better time, which it did. So I ended up with a one-minute improvement over my race last year, which you know. Feeling like everything that I did leading up to the race. I was really looking for a bigger improvement, but, number one, I felt like there was a lot of success that I did leading up to the race. I was really looking for a bigger improvement, but, number one, I felt like there was a lot of success that I had in the race and I'll share with you in a little bit, but also there's still a lot for me to work on which I'm going to in preparation for my next half marathon as well as coming back hopefully for the RBC Brooklyn half marathon next year.
Speaker 1:
So, beyond the time, here are some of the things that I went through kind of leading up to the race last year that I feel really great about for this year. So there's three areas One was the training leading up to the race. Two was preparing for the race, like the day before. And then three was execution right so kind of during the race. And I feel like for all those three areas I did fairly well and I would consider it an overall success.
Speaker 1:
So the first one is just kind of the training leading up to the race, and the biggest challenge that I had last year was consistency. So I put in pretty good miles during my training block leading up to the race, but for a couple of weeks the beginning and a couple of weeks at the end leading up to the race I just kind of fell off with consistency and a lot of that had to do with commitments related to family, work and travel and other things, and I have to say that I wasn't as intentional about really figuring out a way around those things to get in the miles and get in the training that I needed, and I felt that that really impacted my performance last year, especially the last couple of weeks leading up to the race. So this year was a lot more intentional about it. There's a couple of weeks that I had travel and I said you know what, I'm going to get up early and I'm going to get in my runs, or I'm going to get in my runs kind of during the day, before dinner, which wasn't ideal, or maybe like right after dinner, which is even worse, or not go out really really late or do things that would prevent me from getting up early the next day and doing my training. So I would say that it was hard.
Speaker 1:
I did it by brute force. I really just kind of scheduled in when I could do my runs and I can't say that I did all of my runs or got in all the mileage that I need to. But I did far better this year than I did last year, which was the goal, which was to be consistent, be intentional about getting in my training and working it the same things, especially if you you know you have a really heavy work schedule If you travel, really heavy family schedule, just kind of getting in training, it's just not easy to do all the time. So being intentional about it and scheduling it at a time really just worked for me and I'm sure you know we'll work for you. But that was one of the things that I wanted to correct from last year that I feel really good about.
Speaker 1:
So, as I think about success for this race, one of the three areas is kind of the training leading up to the race. I did pretty much what I said was what I was going to do and that just helped me mentally, kind of walking into the Brooklyn half. The second area was preparation for the race, kind of the day before. So last year going into the Brooklyn half was the first time that I ran in New York City and it was quite the experience. And if you listen to my episode from last year or listen to the live, it was not just showing up and running a race, it was getting down to the city, which I took the subway and that was a new experience for me, taking the train down, staying in a part of the city Even though I live close by, I don't really stay in the city very often, so finding a place that was close to the starting line and getting down there early, getting everything I needed to get done I wanted to learn how to do that last year and I did all of it wrong.
Speaker 1:
I got down to the city late, I ate lunch and dinner late. I don't even think I got in a run the day before. I got to sleep late, all those things and I said I wouldn't repeat those again this year. So I did exactly what I said I was going to do. I got down to the city early and it was so nice. It was such a beautiful day, especially compared to last year, where I was able to just work from the city because I got there a little bit early. Then I got to the pre-race registration and party that the New York Roadrunners hosted, which was super nice, and, like I said, it was a beautiful day to kind of hang out for a little bit outside, meet other runners, folks that I'd never met before, or maybe we just kind of met through Instagram or through social media, so that was kind of nice. And then getting back and doing my shakeout run and doing all the things that I need to do to get ready for the next day and getting to sleep early and all the things. So I feel like that was also a success because I did all the things. I said I wouldn't repeat the sins of the past and I did all the things that I need to do to make sure that I was set up for success pretty much on race day and I also stayed in an area that was much more conducive to kind of getting outside and doing my run and it was really nice. It was by the water, there's a lot of other runners and it was just overall just better experience than last year.
Speaker 1:
So again, just mentally and physically preparing me for race day, just mentally and physically preparing me for race day, and then the last part was just kind of execution during the race. So I got to the race early Last year if you can imagine, this is a race with 27,000 runners and last year it took me an hour from the time that I showed up to get through bag check, the screening and then getting to the corral. It took me about an hour and it was just a lot of anxiety. I had a lot of anxiety kind of leading up to that. So this year, because I did everything early and I woke up early and I got to the race early, I felt like I avoided a lot of that. Plus, it felt like in terms of logistics it was a lot better this year than it was last year. But that race day prep really helped me for that. So I was already in a better mindset.
Speaker 1:
So, execution during the race I was talking to my coach shout out to Coach Kevin Underdog Fitness and he was asking me about you know, let's talk about self-talk and I was just he was like, well, what do you say to yourself, kind of during the race. And I was like, well, I don't know if I really have a mantra necessarily that I say, but what I try to do is kind of keep out all the negative thoughts. So typically what happens is I'm thinking about all of the things that I didn't do, or all the things I didn't do right, well, I should have done more hill work, I should have done more speed work. Oh, I missed a bunch of training days here, I didn't get enough mileage. Here I start thinking about all these negative things maybe from the past that could be affecting me now.
Speaker 1:
To me, now the other thing that happens to me sometimes is I start thinking about the future, which is just as bad, because then that gives me anxiety about something that's just not even here yet. Oh, I have another race that's coming up, or I have this business meeting that I have to do, or I have to do this other thing right, and it gives me anxiety and gets me thinking about the future, where all those things in the past or all those things in the future are taking me away from what's happening in the present. So that's the conversation that I had with Coach Kevin was like a really intentional about just blocking out all of those things. Forget about what happened in the past, forget about what's happening in the future. Like just really think about the mile that you're in. And that's been super, super helpful for me because it just keeps me focused on that mile. It doesn't get. You know, I don't have that anxiety about what happened in the past or what's happening in the future, and that's been super helpful. So that's kind of one part of it. But then again, kind of to Kevin's point was like well, what are you saying yourself to kind of keep going? And I hadn't really thought about it. So.
Speaker 1:
But I would say that there's two things that I thought about, you know, kind of during the race. That really helped me and I thought about this the day before but really kind of kept it top of mind during the race. The first thing was I wanted to really kind of encouraged myself to just kind of keep moving, even if I wasn't exactly where I wanted to be at that point in the race. So what I said to myself during the race was you're doing great. So even if my time was a little off or maybe I had a little bit of pain you know, I had a little bit of pain in one leg or maybe I had, you know, cramps at one point you're doing great. You're one point you're doing great. You're doing great. You're doing great. If I overcame a hill, you're doing great. Just keep moving Like cause. You know, as you get to the top of the hill and you're feeling it right, your heart rates up and you're breathing heavy and you're tired and you just want to stop and you're doing great. And that kind of kept me going. And the other mantra that I kept saying to myself, which part of it I kind of wrote on they had these little bands that they wrote up for you the day before, which I did, and I wrote part of the mantra on this band.
Speaker 1:
But I don't know if you've ever listened to Eric Thomas. He's a motivational speaker and I've listened to a couple of snippets of his speeches that he's given and he has a saying that I absolutely love and I couldn't remember the entire saying at that moment in time, so I had part of it written down. But he says I can, I will, I must, and I really love that. And I had I can and I will, kind of on this band that I wore during the race and I repeated that kind of during the race. So it was either you're doing great right, especially during times where we're tough, but also kind of repeated that mantra I can, I will, I must.
Speaker 1:
And I feel like that was a success as well, like I felt strong during the race physically, but I also felt strong mentally during times where I'd be just like you know what I'm not necessarily going to give up and drop out of the race, but I'm not going to push as hard because I'm not going to get to where I want to be and what's the point? I'm just going to coast from here on out. So I feel like for almost the entire race I felt strong and I pushed through some of the challenges that you would just have during the race and I just kind of pushed through it. And it wasn't until the very end of the race that I felt a little lightheaded. I felt just not how I wanted to feel kind of to finish really strong at the end of the race. I held on and I finished. I felt great that I did finish and I had that one minute improvement. But I definitely could see a couple of miles in the middle and a couple of miles at the end that if I held on to that pace that I had for the rest of the race, that I would have hit my target time and I would have had the improvement that I wanted.
Speaker 1:
But despite just having that time, what I just shared with you was really important to me the training leading up to the race, pre-race prep and execution during the race, including that self-talk. For me all of those things were a success. So I walked away feeling really good about what I was able to do there and I feel like I learned a lot right. That will set me up for success for future races. So you know, so I'm really excited to kind of share that with you is just talking a little bit about like, how do you define success?
Speaker 1:
It's, of course, the easiest thing to measure is a time. Just like you know, someone's getting into fitness and you know one of the common goals is to lose weight. But it's not the only success factor or success metric, right, there are other things that can tell you that you're making improvements, and for me, a lot of that was doing what I said I would do and having that positive kind of mental attitude during the race, and for me that was a success. So I'll take the one minute improvement, although I wanted you know, would have wanted a three, four or five minute improvement. But I'll take it and I'll take all of these things that I learned into, you know, my next races that are coming up this year, and you know I'll also look for the time improvement as part of all of that. But I feel really good about, kind of, how I executed that race and looking forward to the next.
Speaker 1:
So what's next for me? So a couple of big things, right. So I have a couple of races in June. I have a Father's Day five miler. That I've done before and I did really well last year, so looking to improve again this year. I also have a Decker Spartan Decker race that's coming up, so I'm doing a teams there and I'm really excited about that to run with my partner and that. And then my next big one is the Gulf Beach half marathon in September, which I've run for a couple of years now, and then hopefully my first full marathon in November. So still kind of working through that, but really excited to do my first marathon this year.
Speaker 1:
No-transcript. And, of course, big things for the podcast. So I know that we haven't launched an episode in quite some time but still have a number of interviews to publish as well as guests to bring on the show. So I'm gonna share more of my story and how my training is going this year, plus the stories of others which I know you'll enjoy and hopefully will help you in your running journey. So that's what I wanted to come on and share and if you're watching the video, I'll show you on the video here my Brooklyn half metal, which I love the metal.
Speaker 1:
This year I'm also wearing the shirt, which you can't really see very well, but really proud of this big milestone for this race and looking forward to the races that are coming up, as well as my training and everything else. So I'd love for you to share your recent race experience, whether maybe we ran the Brooklyn half together and didn't run into each other at the race, or post race Tag Inspire to Run podcast in your posts. Race tag Inspire to Run Podcast in your posts. Or you can DM us and let us know what upcoming races you have this year and what are the things that you're struggling with or what are the things that you're looking to hear about to help you in your journey. So with that, I want to thank you for tuning in and hearing about my experience and hopefully it'll help you and really looking forward to sharing more episodes more consistently in the future. So with that, thanks again for listening and have a great day.