Not Winning Does Not Always Mean Choking

At the time of me writing this it has been just 24 hours since the NCAA Cross Country Championships and the locally run (for me, at least) high school level slug-fest- Nike South Regional, which I attended yesterday. It ‘s no secret that even though I’m old and arguably past my prime as a runner, I love me some cross country. The energy at these events is hard to match for both competitors and spectators alike. Don’t believe me-if you like running at all- just go wander around one sometime and you’ll know what I mean. 

It’s a beautiful thing watching people do hard things.

Now it’s time to put my ‘armchair pacer’ to work and unpack some thoughts that I had while watching yesterday’s NXR’s and periodically checking in on the results for NCAA’s. First, running-especially cross country is really, really, hard.  The training it takes to prepare for Championship meets takes a certain mindset and a lot of commitment. You have to believe in what you’re doing-the training, the prep, the coaching, and most importantly yourself and the others around you. Even with all this, nothing is ever guaranteed.

Perhaps that’s what makes sport so great; the gun goes off into an alchemy of effort and grit with those most confident and committed to the task at hand emerging first. That- or a set of circumstances beyond the control of the athlete that day that sets up who finishes where. This could be anything-a few bodies impeding progress at the start or in a narrow segment of the course, intense humidity or heat impacting your cardiovascular system, or sometimes for reasons we can’t explain, we are just ‘off’ on that given day. 

Attest your whole performance to outside factors; then that could be considered making excuses and operating with a fixed mindset, however, if you work with what the day gives and accept what’s been given to you- then we can grow and use any experience and finish place and time. In fact, it’s my belief that that’s the ultimate champion’s mindset; working with what you have on that day and using that experience-whether the outcome is favorable or not-to improve.

Yesterday, some athletes finished as high as expected and some did not. Does that mean they choked or failed? Not necessarily. Those who show up and are brave to the end in my opinion are not failures. Those who take risks regularly rarely choke. Why? because they're committed to something other than and outcome-it's all about effort, because that's what you can control. In a sport where competition is stiff; everyone wants to be successful, it makes sense that results will differ from year to year, and definitely race to race. I think that’s what makes competition so compelling. 

If you walk off the course feeling like you gave everything you had that day, then, in a way I would argue that you were in fact successful no matter what the result says. Runner Karissa Schweizer of Missouri/last year’s NCAA Champ is a good example of this and she has a great interview on FloTrack for those interested (and it’s a free one!;))

Results are fluid and final just for that moment; mindset, however, and work ethic,  dedication, and self-belief can be maintained and solidified. So no, not meeting expectations does not always equal choking.  Think about that, folks. And keep going…