In case you were wondering how I did in last weekend’s race (see Confessions of the Hyper-Competitive), I am becoming increasingly adequate.  I took 2:15 off my previous 5K time, but am nowhere near catching the 50 year-olds who apparently carry rickshaws for a living.

 

I came in second in my age group.  If you were to tell me before the race that I would finish second in my age group and finish the race in 24:15, I would have been very happy.  But there is a problem… 

 

I followed this other guy who had about the same pace as me throughout the whole race.  I sized him up prior to the race – he seemed younger than me and in pretty good shape.  Plus, he had on headphones, a heart rate monitor, and those Larry Bird see-my-white-harry-thighs running shorts.  I, on the other hand, don’t even own an IPod, gauge my heart rate by how close I feel to vomiting, and wear much more modest knee-length shorts (a sure sign of a novice runner).  I thought that if I could keep up with this other guy (we’ll call him Runner-X), I would be fine.

 

The race started and it was pretty hilly.  I actually like this because the place where I do most of my running is hilly and I think it gives me an advantage over the flatlanders.  I pulled slightly ahead of Runner-X on the uphill sections and he passed me on the downhill sections.  On the level areas, I trailed by a few paces and drafted him.  I read that this was a good strategy, but at the speeds we were running I think this was about as necessary as putting granite countertops in an outhouse.

 

The last section remained relatively flat and I continued to follow him by a few paces.  At the end of the race I thought about trying to pass him, but I was afraid that would be bad etiquette.  Besides, he didn’t appear to be in my age group.

 

When the race ended, I was very satisfied with my time.  My satisfaction increased when the results went up and I saw that I got second in my age group and would receive a cheesy medal that makes a little league participation trophy look like the Stanley Cup.  My elation came crashing down; however, when I saw that Runner-X was in my age group and won first place with a time 3 seconds better than my own.

 

Moral of the story time… we can be very successful in our careers by completing key projects, getting promotions, or gaining recognition.  Despite the thrill of our success, it can be dashed in a second by Runner-X.  When it comes to running, I have learned to set a time as my goal not my position in my age group.  There is no telling who will show up on race day.  If I base my success on my position in my age group, I can become exasperated when fast runners show up or I can finish well below my potential when there is a lack of competition.  Either way, if we base our success on how we do relative to Runner-X, we will never be satisfied. 

 

Success is defined as achieving a desired result.  For this race, my goal was to complete it in less than 25 minutes.  I did that and should consider my efforts a success despite not passing Runner-X.  I challenge you to “run the race set before you” and measure your success based on the achieving of goals that are important to you, not by how you appear to be doing relative to others.

 

By the way, I went to a sporting goods store last night and bought a stretchy shirt and reasonable-length running shorts.  Look out, Usain Bolt