The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way. -Robert Kiyosaki
Disappointment – a feeling that all runners are probably all too familiar with. It’s also a good way to summarize how I feel about the last 6 months of racing. Have I gotten any slower? No, in fact, I’m running times during workouts that I’ve never been able to run before. Have I put in less work? No, I’ve run more quality miles this year than any previous year. Do I want it any less? Absolutely NOT! But sometimes when we have big goals, the disappointment when you sense you aren’t making big enough strides towards those goals can feel almost paralyzing. The day after Macklind, I felt sick to my stomach every time I thought about the race. I took a chance on race day going out in a pace I thought I could run and it didn’t work out. If I could go back and race it differently, would I? Duh, of course. Am I asking to forget about it though? Heck no. Races and training blocks don’t always go as planned, but the experience and lessons learned from those races that don’t go our way are sometimes more valuable than the ones that do. While I wish I never had to feel disappointment after a race or workout, I am reminded that I would much rather dream big and fall short than to never have dreamed at all. Sometimes a little disappointment isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. ..it motivates you to dig a little deeper next time because hurting during a race feels a whole lot better than hurting after it. I am surrounded by a great team and I’m confident that I’m doing the right things in order to improve and sometimes that just has to be good enough for now. . .
– Crystal Harriss
