12 Replies to “A Runner Doth Compare: Keeping the comparison game in check”
Great post! It’s so true. I was thinking about this the other day – no-one is ever happy. For an obvious example (!) the marathon – people want to finish, and then they might want to get a sub-4, and then a BQ, and then a 3:30, and now I know of a runner (female) who can do just over three hours and is desperate to get sub 3. We’re always onto the next goal, or the next person. Constant comparison, no matter what stage we’re at!
This is going to be an epic comment – sorry in advance!
I don’t know that I compare myself to anyone in particular – I guess other amateur runners generally. I compare most on times – you should have seen me studying the online results of everyone I have ever known in the last race I was in.
I’m envious of skinny runners (The Rake is totally going to leave me if I ever look like the woman who runs up our street everyday) – the ones who are naturally built to be light and lithe.
I THINK people are envious of my legs – and my persistence (and sometimes pissed off with me for being so stubborn – both sides of the coin there ;-))
Ok, I think I’m done! Massive ramble. But really, really important post x
LOVED this comment and seriously, i’m the queen of epic comments so please always feel free to reciprocate! i think i musta left one for u about 1000words long! lol. but i’m so happy u really liked this post, and i do feel it’s important to remember that while we should look forward to achieve another goal, if we don’t ever take time to really relish each goal we DO hit, then in the end we’ll regret it. dashing thru our achievements isn’t fair because we work TOO HARD to not stop and pat ourselves on the back now and then. i anticipating LOTS of patting for ur back here in oh…a couple days. 😉
Such an important post! Comparison is the ultimate confidence killer, and I fall victim to its clutches sometimes when it comes to my running, but even more when it comes to milestones in my life. Not cool. I need to remember that everyone paces themself differently in the road race of life, and just because my friends are getting married and have/are trying to have children that isn’t necessarily the path that I will take. It will all come in time. I am happy with the life I have right now, and I am in the race for myself, not for anyone else 🙂
awww, ur last line there makes my night. i believe u have done such a WONDERFUL job being a role model for everyone in ur own posts, prose and insights. u are so open but incredibly attuned to the human condition; why people do things and how certain things are only doing harm and those things (guilt, putting urself down, etc) are not worth having in one’s life. u my dear better be writing that book! 🙂
I TOO love this post. I am totally envious of all you long distance runners who can just run and run. I am definitely a middle distance runner so I am not super fast but I can’t crank out the Ks either.
This is strange but sometimes I get a bigger kick from other peoples race achievements than my own. Seeing your 5km time just makes me feel so inspired and in awe. Thinking about Kate lining up at the start line on Sunday makes me excited! I am always happy when I cross a finishline and more so these days now I am really finding my strides BUT like Kate said you just start focusing on the next goal… That totally doesn’t do justice to the current achievements.
Everyone is physically and mentally so different and we totally should be able to celebrate our own and each others strengths and achievements!
I have sat at a few finishlines over the years watching clients come over and I tell you I get goosebumps for everyone that crosses that line… 3 hours or 5 hours they all pushed their bodies to their own limits and that is such cool stuff!!!
u are SO cute…and i’m with u, i get incredibly excited when i read/hear about my friends doing awesome too! it’s so neat feeling like u’ve been there to watch the process and then when THEY get a PR it’s like getting a ‘contact’ runner high. 🙂
I find I’m constantly comparing myself to other runners, I can’t seem to help it. I am usually successful in not being too negative about it and use it instead as motivation. I try to remind myself that I’m doing the best that I can do, not the best that someone else can do.
We all have different places we are coming from, different circumstances that affect how and when we train and race. I haven’t met a single runner who has the exact same life and time commitments that I do, so I need to stop assuming I’ll be running exactly the same as someone else.
I know that some of my newer running friends are envious of the progress I’ve made as a runner, the distances I’ve been able to run. I hope that for them it serves as a motivator, rather than a deterrent though. I know seeing someone bust out a new PR or a new distance record always motivates me to keep at it.
sounds like u’ve got the perfect perspective on this…channel it to motivate and it sure sounds like it’s working! be proud of ur quick success and learning curve! 🙂
I most definitely compare myself to the size of other runners. I envy those small, fast runners who eat whatever they want while I am over here constantly struggling. It’s life though.
I used to compare myself to other runners in distance. However, I’m actually doing some speed work and training for short races (prior to starting marathon training on November 16!) and I’m looking more towards speed.
People are constantly telling me they admire my dedication. I lost over 100 lbs by running. It was a HARD start but I kept pushing. I have gotten multiple injuries. I ran the last 10 miles of a half marathon on a broken foot last Spring. I would not stop running. The next three months I was swimming or in the gym doing weights. Now I’ve lost all my hair (:-\) and people are constantly telling me that they admire that I don’t let it stop me.
Great post! It’s so true. I was thinking about this the other day – no-one is ever happy. For an obvious example (!) the marathon – people want to finish, and then they might want to get a sub-4, and then a BQ, and then a 3:30, and now I know of a runner (female) who can do just over three hours and is desperate to get sub 3. We’re always onto the next goal, or the next person. Constant comparison, no matter what stage we’re at!
This is going to be an epic comment – sorry in advance!
I don’t know that I compare myself to anyone in particular – I guess other amateur runners generally. I compare most on times – you should have seen me studying the online results of everyone I have ever known in the last race I was in.
I’m envious of skinny runners (The Rake is totally going to leave me if I ever look like the woman who runs up our street everyday) – the ones who are naturally built to be light and lithe.
I THINK people are envious of my legs – and my persistence (and sometimes pissed off with me for being so stubborn – both sides of the coin there ;-))
Ok, I think I’m done! Massive ramble. But really, really important post x
LOVED this comment and seriously, i’m the queen of epic comments so please always feel free to reciprocate! i think i musta left one for u about 1000words long! lol. but i’m so happy u really liked this post, and i do feel it’s important to remember that while we should look forward to achieve another goal, if we don’t ever take time to really relish each goal we DO hit, then in the end we’ll regret it. dashing thru our achievements isn’t fair because we work TOO HARD to not stop and pat ourselves on the back now and then. i anticipating LOTS of patting for ur back here in oh…a couple days. 😉
Such an important post! Comparison is the ultimate confidence killer, and I fall victim to its clutches sometimes when it comes to my running, but even more when it comes to milestones in my life. Not cool. I need to remember that everyone paces themself differently in the road race of life, and just because my friends are getting married and have/are trying to have children that isn’t necessarily the path that I will take. It will all come in time. I am happy with the life I have right now, and I am in the race for myself, not for anyone else 🙂
awww, ur last line there makes my night. i believe u have done such a WONDERFUL job being a role model for everyone in ur own posts, prose and insights. u are so open but incredibly attuned to the human condition; why people do things and how certain things are only doing harm and those things (guilt, putting urself down, etc) are not worth having in one’s life. u my dear better be writing that book! 🙂
I TOO love this post. I am totally envious of all you long distance runners who can just run and run. I am definitely a middle distance runner so I am not super fast but I can’t crank out the Ks either.
This is strange but sometimes I get a bigger kick from other peoples race achievements than my own. Seeing your 5km time just makes me feel so inspired and in awe. Thinking about Kate lining up at the start line on Sunday makes me excited! I am always happy when I cross a finishline and more so these days now I am really finding my strides BUT like Kate said you just start focusing on the next goal… That totally doesn’t do justice to the current achievements.
Everyone is physically and mentally so different and we totally should be able to celebrate our own and each others strengths and achievements!
I have sat at a few finishlines over the years watching clients come over and I tell you I get goosebumps for everyone that crosses that line… 3 hours or 5 hours they all pushed their bodies to their own limits and that is such cool stuff!!!
u are SO cute…and i’m with u, i get incredibly excited when i read/hear about my friends doing awesome too! it’s so neat feeling like u’ve been there to watch the process and then when THEY get a PR it’s like getting a ‘contact’ runner high. 🙂
I find I’m constantly comparing myself to other runners, I can’t seem to help it. I am usually successful in not being too negative about it and use it instead as motivation. I try to remind myself that I’m doing the best that I can do, not the best that someone else can do.
We all have different places we are coming from, different circumstances that affect how and when we train and race. I haven’t met a single runner who has the exact same life and time commitments that I do, so I need to stop assuming I’ll be running exactly the same as someone else.
I know that some of my newer running friends are envious of the progress I’ve made as a runner, the distances I’ve been able to run. I hope that for them it serves as a motivator, rather than a deterrent though. I know seeing someone bust out a new PR or a new distance record always motivates me to keep at it.
sounds like u’ve got the perfect perspective on this…channel it to motivate and it sure sounds like it’s working! be proud of ur quick success and learning curve! 🙂
I most definitely compare myself to the size of other runners. I envy those small, fast runners who eat whatever they want while I am over here constantly struggling. It’s life though.
I used to compare myself to other runners in distance. However, I’m actually doing some speed work and training for short races (prior to starting marathon training on November 16!) and I’m looking more towards speed.
People are constantly telling me they admire my dedication. I lost over 100 lbs by running. It was a HARD start but I kept pushing. I have gotten multiple injuries. I ran the last 10 miles of a half marathon on a broken foot last Spring. I would not stop running. The next three months I was swimming or in the gym doing weights. Now I’ve lost all my hair (:-\) and people are constantly telling me that they admire that I don’t let it stop me.
I’m a stubborn little bitch:-)
power to stubborn bitches!! i LUV this comment…u keep it up! 🙂
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