Important Pre-Race Prep Notes, All From Personal Expereinces and Lessons Learned from Previous Mistakes.

While mistakes may be undesirable, they are almost always inevitable to happen. Therefore, as long as you are regularly on the lookout for possible mistakes, are able to identify them, take the time to reflect on them once appropriately identified, and making an effort to learn and improve from them, there is absolutely nothing wrong with making a mistake! It happens! Unfortunately, we as a society tend to prioritize perfectionism, winnning, and success, so when newcomers and beginners alike don't see the results that they want immediately, they often forget that success often comes from improvements that have been made based on the lessons learned from past failures and mistakes (which are often, but not always, multiple and have occurred repeatedly). When people forget this, they are more likely to get discouraged or give up. And yes, failing to and/or not trying to recognize mistakes nor learn from them is also certainly a problem. However, if no one ever made a mistake or knew what it was like to "suck" at something, we would never have the opportunity to know nor learn how to change our actions and habits so that we could have a chance of improving in the future! While success is nice to have, it does not always provide these same growth opportunities that failure does.

This analogy that I am discussing here can apply to many different aspects of life, but for the purposes of this blog and my website generally, I am going to apply it to my direct expereince with running. Despite having many successes and proud moments, I have had lower moments too. However, many of those high moments as a runner have also come from lessons learned from lower moments, where I have made one or two or even multiple errors in prepping for and/or executing a race. Below, I have outlined some mistakes that I have made in preparation for and during various races, as well as the lessons that I have learned from those mistakes and how I either have or hope to grow from them (this is still subject to be edited and changed, however). For some, these may be a bit funny. To oithers, they may sound a little bit scary and may cause you to think things like, "What is this trainer doing? Does he really know what he is doing?" For these reasons, this chart is meant to be taken seriously but without worry or stress. I beleive that this chart is and can be helpful for insuring safety and to someone else looking for ways to improve, but it is also in no way meant to show or cause self-blame, shame, or anxiety in any way, shape, or form.

With any activity, there is always some risk involved. And as I've stated before, unpleasant things may happen when racing, and that is perfectly okay. That is how we grow and learn. Mistakes are not "bad" in nature, but rather are growth opportunities for learning and reflection.

Mistake	Why it happened	Why it was a mistake	Lessons to be Learned from the Mistake and How to Improve in the Future
Shoes got untied in the middle of a race	Thought that I had tied the shoes tightly enough, unaware that the shoes	Increased the risk of a fall, added 15-20 seconds to my 5k time	Triple knot shoes before the start of the race, possibly look into a new pair of shoes that have better laces
Eating a big meal too soon before a race.	I thought I had enough time to digest my food.	Turns out, I didn't have enough time to digest my food, my stomach hurt during the race, and I could have planned to eat earlier.	Stick to solely morning races, where it is easier to race fasted and energize myself instead of during digestion.
Wearing too many layers of clothes	In one instance, I thought that I would have gotten too cold during the race. In another race, I believed that what I had on was cool enough	While not overheated, I defintely got warmer than I woudl have liked in both races.	Don't wear more than 2 layers for a race with mid 40s temperatures (Middleburg Wellness Race), and don't wear tights in a race in warm temperatures with hot & humid conditions (Oatlands 5k)
Running a race in icy weather conditions	Wanted to see what my current limits for weather conditions were and didn't know	Even though I did not have the intent of "going for a fast time", this race did not feel SAFE (increased risk of slipping and falling), which is of utmost importancy.	My gear at the time was not adequate enough for those specific race conditions. Get better gear for those situations, and if I don't have the adequate gear for those circumstances, don't run it and don't feel ashamed in not running it.
Not wearing insoles	Forgot to insert insoles	I got planatar fasciitis as a result	NEVER go on a run without insuring proper shoe support and do a better job of regularly checking my insoles.

DISCLAIMER: While I generally strive to be objectively accurate, this is still a relatively opinionated post. While research probably can certainly be used to justify this piece, this is based merely on personal and common knowledge, expereince, & anecdote. Please refer to actual data & research before citing specific claims on this article.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that this post was helpful :)