Yes, this is a generalization, but overall, I believe it’s true.
When you’re comfortable with racing, it takes some of the scariness away, gives you valuable experience, and provides a skills check of current ability.
Having one big goal race is so tricky- there are many variables that are out of our control- weather, traffic, how the stomach will react (especially while traveling), fueling while running, our gear, etc…
Sure we can plan to mitigate these by doing a dress rehearsal, sticking with tried and true fueling, hydration, and gear, but putting all of our eggs in one basket can be great or it can be disappointing.
And yes, too much racing prior to a goal race can set you set back a little bit, but strategically placed race distances and timing can be really beneficial.
If your goal race is a marathon, I think many people benefit from working on speed initially and then working towards increasing distance. If you’re able to run a 10k, then a half marathon, then your goal marathon- it be a great opportunity to focus on periodization.
When you have time in your training to pop a few races in your calendar, it helps tune up your speed, get practice in a race setting, and especially practice getting comfortable with the mental side of racing.
Last weekend I ran the Portland Half Marathon and had such a great race. Everything truly felt good- yes, it was really challenging and I was definitely not comfortable, but I didn’t have any aches, pains, fueling snafus, tricky weather, or gear issues. I ran hard, put my best food forward, and gave it my all on that day. After running 24 half marathons and 7 marathons, (all but one half- in the last 9 years) I’ve truly come to see, that racing is highly beneficial.
There will be days where one thing doesn’t go right or literally everything doesn’t go right, but those are the days you just need to feel grateful to move your body and move on. There will always be another opportunity. When there are great races and amazing days, you appreciate them all the more.
Right now I’m celebrating the ability to race a 10k after just running a half marathon last weekend. I have another few races on the books this year and not every race has to be an all-out, strive for a PR. Sometimes we can appreciate them for what they are- a celebration of our ability to show up for ourselves over and over, to do something hard, when it’s easy to stay in bed, and to prioritize our time and ourselves every so often.
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