Comparing ourselves to others is a natural human tendency, but can lead to getting stuck in the comparison trap, resulting in damaging our own self-esteem, mental health and confidence.
Most runners love Strava and Social media to show off our achievements, which is fantastic as it really is a great network to share our race results etc and receive kudos for doing so.. BUT, we can also fall into the trap of comparing our results, training, life with what others are doing often affecting our ability to focus on ourselves.
You will often hear people saying; 'i used to beat them' 'they're doing x-amount of miles' 'they're doing this training'
Then we immediately lose focus on ourselves by focusing on what others are doing.
Important factors to consider when monitoring running training and performance:
When monitoring your training programme its natural to compare yourself to other athletes, but its important to consider the following points, as no two runners journey will be the same:
1. We are all unique on our running journey.
You must consider all factors when you are comparing your running training with others, we are not all the same, for example you need to consider each runner is a different shape, weight and size.
Also physical attributes and strengths, such as cadence and lung capacity will have a major effect on the training performance of every runner.
2. You do not know where the other person is in their running journey.
Comparing yourself to another runner based on stats and socials is dangerous, as you will almost certainly not be on the same running journey as them.
You should consider they could have specifically trained for the same race you did, but it wasn't your priority and therefore they did better than you - that's not your worry!
You can only focus on your own running journey, at any given point in time
3. Lifestyle outside of running will play a factor.
We don't know what other runners lifestyles are, sleep, nutrition, work/home balance, pressures/stresses.
All these things can have a significant impact on the performance of both your and their running performance.
4. Your race, your pace!
Ultimately you are in control of the pace you can run, comparing with others has no real value. Of course you can set targets and benchmark yourself against other runners, but ultimately its more important to understand your journey and race to a pace you are comfortable with and can consistently achieved and potentially improve on.
5. Control the controllables
What you do and how you do it is what you control, not what others do. This is an important mentality to have, not just in training and improving you personal running performance, but also in life in general.
Its important to focus on looking at what you can change or improve, to further your running performance and results. You can look at small changes to start with and work towards larger goals.
Its important not to get to over focused on things you cannot control, only look at things you can personally change or at least be in control of.
Top tips on how to regain focus on your personal running training performance:
Here are a couple pointers on what you need to do to help you regain focus on YOU and YOUR training:
- Take a break from social media / Strava, this can be where most of the damage is done. Focus on yourself and what you are training for.
- Start a gratitude or positivity journal - jot down great sessions/runs/swims/cycles etc you had and how that made you feel. This will be something you can refer back to so you can see your past and present self.
- Be kind to yourself, the power of positivity & self praise is massive. When you've nailed that session or hit those splits, PB'd a race - tell yourself about it. We are our own worst critic, so let's be our own number one fan too.
Focus on YOU and being better each day, the results will come.
