Wednesday, March 30, 2011

MBW: Race Reports

The Monday Brain Exchange is brought to you by Jill.

This Weeks Question: Do you enjoy writing your race reports? Do you use them later for reference?

I enjoy writing race reports, but sometimes when I race a lot they can seem like a chore or repetitive to me. It's often hard to put into words an amazing experience, but I like to capture what I can remember from each race, what worked, what didn't work, and stats on my performance. 

I reference them often for inspiration and when formulating my strategy for an upcoming race. I like to read then to relive the moment, such as my first half or a PR or first marathon, when I am feeling down or when I haven't raced in a while. If I feel like I'm not making any progress in my running, I look back through all my reports and remind myself how far I've come. This almost always makes me realize the plateau is temporary and not as bad as it seems in my head. To help with that, I put together a spreadsheet so I can easily see at a glance all my race finish times, and their corresponding paces color coded. You can see it under my Racing History Tab.

This blog is mainly for me to document my journey and reflect on it, but I do hope that my race reports  help someone researching an upcoming race or inspire them to train for a new distance. Now I have some questions for you:
  • what do you look for in a race report when researching and upcoming race? 
  • do you follow a format/formula when posting your race reports, or just wing it?
  • what do you always include in every race report you write?



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