Are you too hard on yourself?

airehead over a year ago

It is a natural tendency of mine to compare myself with others. If a "comparison" thought pops into my head, I immediately banish it because it isn't productive. Then I go on to compare myself to what I was a year ago. I have changed.

But when I have a sucky run I feel I've failed sometimes. I think rather than spurring myself on by being a "positive" coach-- the "you can do it" type (the type of person I am for others) I tend to be more the negative type of coach. "Can't you do better" "Is that all you have to give?".

Am I making any sense at all?

I'm trying to get to square one and be a positive coach for myself rather than a negative coach.

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Cappy over a year ago

I am my own worst critic yes. Good and bad sometimes. Most of all I try and look at whatever I am doing, as the best effort that I could make at that time. Learn from it and move on.

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copteacher over a year ago

Yes, but I am very lenient with others. I do not cut myself any slack.

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Pebbles over a year ago

In the past I was very hard on myself, but now I've learned to be more carefree about my running or I'll drive myself

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purple hayes over a year ago

I'm hard on myself, but sometimes I think I'm not hard enough. I'm still relatively slow and weak in every discipline that I do. I know that there's tons of room from improvement and that it will take time to get there. But the impatience just kills me.

I really hate intervals because they're all timed and if the times start creeping up, I get upset with myself.

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runswithscissors over a year ago

I just let things be from one run to the next. There's nothing you can do about a 'bad' run, so get over it and move on! Just enjoy the fact that you can run. I am not as fast as I once was, and I realize that. I just enjoy running for being out there among nature (okay, I'm on the mill right now, but you know what I mean!) taking in the surroundings. And, no matter how fast, slow, long, or short your run may be, it's all good for your health. I personally no longer believe in a 'bad' run. If you do it, you've done it! Shouldn't that be good enough? You people are too hard on yourselves. Lighten up, will ya! You guys are all awesome and you know it. Now, drop and give me 20 fartleks! :D

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shelee over a year ago

I think I'm critical of my running. I want to become competitive in the sport. How would I do that if I weren't critical about each performance. If I were satisfied with my performance, I don't think I'd improve much. On the other hand, I'm also patient. I know there are many stages to meet and surmount. I try to be optimistic but also critical, so I can obtain new goals. If I were too hard and critical on myself, I would stop enjoying the sport, so I try really hard to find some type of balance.

Are you a new runner too? You have to keep your training in perspecitve to your dedication to training and years you've been at it. I think you're doing really well. :)

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runswithscissors over a year ago

I know my post is against the norm. I guess I just have different goals than most of you. Just remember to enjoy yourself and you will be fine. If you were racing for a profession, then I can see having issues with poor performance.

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shelee over a year ago

:thumbsup:
Noted. It's not that I'd ever be a professional runner (except in my dreams when I'm incredibly fast and win races, lol), or expect to be. It's really about enjoying the routine and everthing that goes with it. I mentioned earlier in a post about why we run that, for me, it's about small victories. Whether you're an elite runner or someone trying to get from 28 to 27 minutes in a 5K, I think both people desire competition, either with others or themselves. I know I do. I guess that's the difference between the runner for health/fitness and the competitive runner. If I stop becoming competitive with myself and eventually others, I can always transition into the other type of runner. That's why this sport is so cool. You don't need a team to play. :)

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Guest over a year ago

You're not alone, Rando. I almost quit running twice because I was SO hard on myself that any run where I didn't see improvement was a bad run, and I grew to dread and hate my daily workouts. Being benched for the fractures last year showed me what I would have lost by quitting, and now I have a totally different view, or I should say, I am working toward one, more similar to yours. I want to be grateful that I can run, not worried so much about HOW I run. I have no illusions about ever being competitive so for me, it's all about the joy of running itself. I still struggle with the part of me who says "you suck, you slow thing, give it up and do something else that you CAN do well" but I am learning to tell her to shut up more often. ;)

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Guest over a year ago

Every year I run, I learn more and more about the sport. In the past year having been part of this website, I been brought back to the chapter that Randy and Genie talk about. Just lacing up the shoes and running to run is returning to the forefront for me. The last few years I haven't been able to admit (not that I am now) that my fastest races are behind me. I'll never run a 4:30 mile again or a sub 17-5km. An injury prone aging body with a dozen extra pounds battles with the competitive snot in me nearly every workout. Just like Genie says, I'm learning to tell the snot in me to shut up.

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robp over a year ago

I think I need to be harder on myself. I really want to be competitive at the age group level this year and I think I still have considerable room for improvement. One day last week I decided to go what I thought was close to all-out for three miles. I turned a nice time for me, better than I've run this early in the year in quite a while. The next day I was mad at myself because I know I could've went faster - I hadn't detected one bit of soreness and know that if I had gone all out I would be feeling the effects. I need to focus more on pushing myself to the limit, something I'm not accustomed to doing.

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