What type of runner are you?
Outcome goal runner?
Are you an outcome goal runner, focusing all your attention on achieving a specific outcome, usually finishing a race within a certain time, or craving the kudos of external markers as a measure of success; a sub 60 min 10km, sub-2-hour half marathon or a faster time than a previous year.
Process goal runner?
Or are you a process goal runner who places more emphasis on the steps, strategies and routines that are needed to achieve your gaol, focusing on the journey itself, prioritising consistent training, proper nutrition, and injury prevention?
Here’s a question
Did you start out as a process goal runner, without realising it but now, in fact you are more driven by the outcome of a race?
No perfect forumula
Whatever type of runner you are, and there’s no right or wrong way, yes, I’m sorry to break it to you, but there isn’t the perfect formula for the flawless race or a blueprint of a veritable runner, it’s about finding a balance between whatever goal mindset you have. Finding a dynamic interplay between the outcome and process goals can lead to becoming a more holistic, skilful, and happy runner.
Who are you?
We all strive for improvement and visible progress is a great source of motivation, so it’s good to have some type of outcome goal but relying too heavily and hanging your identity as a person on your success in a race can lead to you discounting your progress, feel like a failure and you may struggle to stay motivated in the future. You have no control of external entities on the lead up to and the day of the race the weather, the wind, the race course; all of these, and many more parameters can influence the outcome of race.
In the beginning
Ask yourself what your original goals were when you first started running, I imagine they were process goals, each week writing your session on the calendar, completing each week’s homework, and getting into the habit of consistently running, and each week you visibly see and celebrate your progress as you became a runner.
Because as a beginner the emphasis tends to be on the steps you need to take to achieve your first 5km; race time rarely comes into play when you first start out, it’s usually about just finishing.
Did your focus change?
Did your mindset shift so that outcomes of a race became the goal, and the progress became less important? As you became a more confident and competent runner, completing races and accumulating miles, did you lose sight of the process because you became so fixated on the outcome of a race that you forget there was a process to get to the start line.
And if you’ve ever avoided a parkrun, or a race, faked an injury or an illness, ask yourself why didn’t you go? Be honest, was it because your focus was on the outcome and the outcome was not where you wanted it to be?
Make your process list
As we are amid race week, I’m asking you to mentally list the steps that you took to get to this point, forgetting for a moment your outcome goal. Does your process list look something like this?
Hard training sessions when you just didn’t feel it.
Ran consistently for the last 3/4 months.
Ran the GSR or another event.
Increased weekly mileage safely.
Ran some long miles on my own.
Ran in the wind and the rain.
Pushed through when the run felt uncomfortable.
Carried on running when life was busy and stressful.
All the above emphasise your habits, actions, and strategies that you’ve put in place to get to the start line; you could end up achieving more than you ever imagined if you savour each step in the race and run the mile that you are in.
Race where you are right now and not where your ego is.