Reflections on Peachtree

Last week, on the 4th of July, I ran in the Peachtree 10k. I love to celebrate our countries Independence Day by running, and apparently so do the other 60,000 runners that competed today. As I write, I am on a plane traveling back to Palo Alto taking some time to think about freedom and why I am thankful for those who have paid a price so I could live in freedom today.

Well, Peachtree race wasn't my best. While there are many factors that I have been considering as I try to piece together my sub par performance I am more concerned with practicing what I preach by taking away the positive aspects of the race (like the fact that I ran my fastest 5k in years over the first downhill portion of the course) forget the negatives (like the fact that I came through 10k much quicker during my first 10k of the Boston Marathon), and learn from my mistakes (like going outside my comfort zone during the first half of the race).

I really enjoy traveling back the same day as my competitions and not just because I get to sleep in my own bed that night but also because it forces me to take sometime to process the race and move on. Over the years I have depended on my coaches to help me process poor races, however, as I have gotten older I am learning to process with others (like my wife or other friends and family) as well as taking some quality time by myself to go over things.

When I look back at a race I look at it first through the lens of a scientist and then through the eyes of an artist. What factors contribute to my performance? What things can I tweak or try out next time out? What good things were reinforced? What felt tired? What workouts do I need to do to be better prepared? How were my thoughts out there? Did I enjoy the race? These are all questions of the scientist.

The artist in me looks back at the race and asks how does this race fit into the larger picture being painted? What things about my performance do I not understand? Did I do a good job of fully expressing me with whatever energy I had to give on the day? What new strokes can I try out next time?

There is always in tension in running between the scientist who wants to have an explanation for everything and the artist who is ok with not understanding all the mysteries of running, knowing that perhaps the next great performance may come from thinking outside the box. I have found that both the scientist and the artist are necessary in becoming a complete runner and processing the good, the bad, and everything in between on race day.