Endurance Runners and Walkers: Setting Personal Worsts, Not Personal Bests?
I was excited and delighted two months ago, when I ran my first negative-split marathon, even though it was also then my worst chip-time in a marathon.
Last month, I had a harder time in the next marathon, got a very positive split, and set an even newer personal worst (PW) for my marathon record.
On the first of this month, I walked (not ran) a half marathon with my wife and set a new walking PW for my half-marathon record. Although I had a great time walking that half with my wife, and although it certainly was not my wife’s worst half as a walker, both of us were a bit disappointed with our chip-times on April 1st.
This PWs string of mine got me to thinking …
- I did not like this PW trend.
- What could I do to reverse this trend?
- What could I share with you about this?
You, the endurance runner or walker, always want to cut your race chip-times. But, sometimes — maybe too often these days — you look up your chip-time online or posted after a race and don’t like what you see: personal worsts instead of personal bests. This could become a dismal trend — unless you discover a secret used by professional athletes.
You trained and raced diligently to achieve your best chip-time, but now you fear that your best will soon be weeks, months, or years behind you. You feel as if whatever gains you’ve made will become distant memories. And the pain of seeing your chip-times drifting upward may be turning to anger, frustration, or confused despair about what you’re doing wrong. Worse, it’s getting harder to see your friends’ chip-times drop, especially if you train together.
I believe that I have the solution that you need. I applied this solution leading up to yet another, albeit shorter, race this past weekend, and I set a new personal best (PB) at that distance! As the author of Mental Tricks for Endurance Runners and Walkers, which I was prompted to consult after my own PW trend (Yes, book authors consult their own books!), I’ll give you a hint: the solution is infused throughout the book, and here’s what it’ll do for you:
- Put more balance into your training.
- Renew your enthusiasm for training and racing.
- Improve your racing performance.
So, if your chip-times are stalled or are heading in the wrong direction, and if you don’t yet have the book, then I encourage you to buy and read Mental Tricks for Endurance Runners and Walkers … and then come back here and post a comment to share your experience with your fellow athletes.
The chip-times trend that you save could be your own!
