I ran a "race" on Memorial Day. It was a 10k road race, and I was proud of my finish time of 57 minutes (my goal was sub one hour finish time) I placed 10th in my age group, 131 overall out of 250 or so runners. I shared this with a friend, who then asked when my next "run" was. I said that I run about 5 times a week, but I wasn't "racing" again until July. He then commented that it isn't really a race if I am not competing.
I WAS competing. I was running against my own personal records. But I did not go in with the expectation of an award, a spot on the podium as it were.
So, is this a race, or just a run where I bought a t-shirt?
if there is a finish line and at least one other runner it is a race.
Your friend sounds like a jerk. If you participated in the Olympics and didn't win a metal, you've still participated in the Olympics. I suppose you could argue that hopefully if you're participating in the Olympics you believe you have a chance of winning, but the outcome of an interaction (or event, since I don't think we can call races 'interactions' per se) is not the only thing that determines what that event was. In a given race there can only be one winner (or, let's say 3-4 since we'll allow room for first, second, third place and maybe a tie). So invariably most of the people who run the race are not going to win. Anyone with any logic knows that. Additionally, if you pay attention to local races or just the times of other runners, you'll know what's on par/really good and what's not. That doesn't mean that if you aren't the best, you don't achieve anything. It's like saying "If you write a book but no one wants to publish it you haven't written a book." "If you run in a race but you don't win, it isn't a race." I wasn't aware that our achievements are measured only against other people and their opinions. I say, good for you for running, and your friend sounds like a glass of sour milk. Please don't take his discouragement to heart!
If you consider racing to be running against your own personal records, isn't every time you run a race?
No, many times I go out and run, with very little consideration for how far or fast I am going, but just putting miles on because it feels good. Many times during training runs I do short sprint type drills, to work on speed or strength. Most of my days running, I set a pace that is comfortable, but pushing my limits. On a good day, I may finish training to find out my average pace was faster than usual; on a bad day, slower. I don't consider this racing. It is training, learning your body and what works, what doesn't, what feels good, what helps, etc. This is very different from signing up for a specific certified distance and monitoring my pace throughout the race to achieve a personal record for that distance.
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," Right? I also run and participate in "races" from time to time. Like you, I am competing against myself alone. That said, there are a number of small competitions or challenges throughout a race. I'll pick someone that I want to pass or I'll try to bring my pace per mile up etc. These are all mini-goals that help me to achieve the over-arching goal of getting my desired time and in the case of the half-marathon I ran, simply finishing. Be proud and happy trails! Also, welcome to Hubski!
Thanks, I tend to agree. That I was proud of my accomplishments, and that I know how hard I worked is enough. And the feel of a race IS different. As you said, I too push myself to pass other runners, and increase rather than decrease my pace as I progress. That a friend would belittle the feelings of achievement I had bothered me enough to seek an objective opinion, but now I think maybe from his vantage point on the sidelines it wasn't so much about belittling my accomplishment as it was about making himself feel better for not trying. Either way, I appreciate your input :)
And thanks for the welcome, I have already found several interesting discussions here on Hubski I look forward to joining the community!
When it seems to be an argument about the meaning of words, it might be a good idea to say "What do you mean?" Just to be really sure what the friend is on about. In the friend's linguistic universe -- which is all his previous experiences of races and competitions and the English language -- completing a challenge ahead of more than half of the other competitors may not be a race. It's perfectly okay to find out what he means and then say, "I can see why you might feel that this is not a race. I'm quite happy calling it a race though."
btw, Lisa F, hubski is a female-friendly place, although the dominant demographic is intelligent, curious, open-minded young men between the ages of 18 and 26 followed by similar men 27-35.That a friend would belittle the feelings of achievement I had bothered me enough to seek an objective opinion, but now I think maybe from his vantage point on the sidelines it wasn't so much about belittling my accomplishment as it was about making himself feel better for not trying.
Probably. Everything people say is a projection of some sort. You didn't ask, but perhaps I can make a suggestion anyway.
That's a good point, and that is basically how we left it at the end of the discussion. I called it a race, and he called it a run. But I really do think that if we only consider our merits with respect to other people's abilities, we will constantly be dissatisfied with our own performance. By racing to beat my own PR, and to my best ability, I finished satisfied with my performance rather than disappointed. Also, so far I've enjoyed reading the discussion on Hubski, and the responses to my pst here have been thought provoking and helpful!
A few quick tips that might help make your time on Hubski more enjoyable. Check out the "tags" link at the top of the page to find posts around specific topics that interest you. For example: #running. Once you find some topics, you can click on the tag and "follow" it. This means that any time someone posts something with that tag it will end up in your "feed." Also, you might want to follow the hubski users that post and share the most interesting content you find. Their posts will also end up in your feed. Also, the "badges" link at the top of the page is comprised of posts/comments that were so well received a fellow hubskier decided to "badge" them. What is a badge? As you use Hubski, you will get badges that you can award to your favorite posts or comments. If you see the '+!' symbol, you can badge that post or comment. In your profile, you can see if you have badges to give, or if you have earned badges from other users. If you ever have any questions, feel free to PM me by clicking on my name and then the "send mail" link under it in my profile. Again welcome and if you ever run in NC, let me know and I'll join you on the trails!