Great news- the Forgotten Florida race photos are in, and there’s a couple of me that are seriously terrible. This one might be the most ridiculous photo I’ve ever had taken:
First of all, it kind of looks like they told me to pose as if I were running. Something about it just doesn’t look natural. More importantly, what in the world is going on with my FACE??? What was I doing? Yelling? Smiling? Crying? Having some kind of a fit? This was before I sprained my ankle, so I don’t have that as an excuse. Well- one thing is for sure- you can see I wasn’t lying when I said it was a wet day.
Moving right along. Earlier this week at the gym, I was listening to this episode of Trail to 100 Podcast, “A Setback is a Step Forward.” Yes, perfect. The hosts talked about how to deal with setbacks, and gave some great nuggets of advice, such as “honor where you are right now.” If your setback is an injury, don’t try to pretend you’re any better or worse than you are, just accept the situation exactly as it is. Another piece of advice was “get help.” Let’s examine that one more closely.
I’m still looking back on my race and analyzing what went wrong. One thing that stands out to me, in retrospect, is that I passed through TWO aid stations- at the first one I was merely cold, but at the second one I had just twisted my ankle, and was shivering. WHY didn’t I ask for help? That’s what the aid station volunteers are there for. I could have told them I needed to warm up. Who knows- maybe someone had an extra pair of gloves, or a rain poncho, or even a trash bag that I could have made into a rain poncho. And why didn’t I at least take a break to assess the ankle situation? I’m not sure there was anything to be done at that moment, but again, you never know. Maybe someone had tape? But for some reason I was in such a hurry to get through the aid station, I didn’t tell anyone I was struggling.
Which brings me to the next point. WHY was I in such a hurry? People always warn you not to waste time at aid stations, but I’m pretty sure that’s if everything is going well. If you’re having a serious problem, you should definitely stop and try to fix it. And here’s the thing- when I left that aid station, I walked almost the entire distance to the next one- seven or eight miles- and I was still ahead of the cutoff. Theoretically- had I actually been able to run at all at that point- I could have continued on to finish the race. I could have stopped for help at both aid stations and still had plenty of time.
My first lesson from this race was: be prepared for the weather. My other big takeaways are: slow down, and ask for help if you need it.
After I listened to the “setback” podcast, I called my sports chiropractor and made an appointment for next week, to see if he can do anything to speed the healing along. I know my ankle will heal regardless, but I have that April 27th race on my radar. I still believe it’s possible, but I have to do everything I can to make it happen. Including… getting some help.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned lately?
Favorite podcast right now? – Every episode of Trail to 100 has been a home run for me this month.
Header photo by Mette Køstner on Unsplash
28 Responses
Your photo is epic! The running bloggers should organize a “most interesting race photo” contest.
Needless to say I’ve got quite the epic collection of interesting race photos myself. There is only one race where I got good photos, which was my first half marathon. It was my first really bad race experience. It was the first hot day of the year and I didn’t let go of my time goal until I started having heat stress. I walked most of the last half of the race, but for some reason every time the camera was there I was running and looking strong. I would compare the “good” photos from the bad race with every “this girl is deranged” photo from a good race and just had to laugh.
Ha, that is funny. I’ve had a couple good race photos here and there, but they’ll mostly terrible.
Ahhhh race photos! I feel like yours really captures the whole mood of the race though! I haven’t run many races yet so I haven’t had that many race photos but even so, I’ve only had a couple I’ve liked. The ones from the finish line of my last race were hilarious, because it was dark and I was looking down at my phone for some reason?!
I will have to check out that Trail to 100 podcast! My favorite is always We Run the Desert, and I loved the latest episode especially because they had two guest runners on who live and run in my area, so it was great to hear them talk about the trails they love here and the local trail/ultra community, because we often get overshadowed by other areas of Arizona, but we do have some pretty amazing trails!
Your podcast reminds me of Florida Trail Running, which is more about local trails and races (although by “local” most of them are still a few hours away.)
Mastering a good finish line photo takes a while! It’s so tempting to be looking down at your watch (or in your case, your phone.) If I run the race I want to in April, one of my goals will be to have a good finish line photo!
YES, asking for help is so hard. Why is it so hard? Who can say. Getting help when we need it is so important for everything in life – and, I guess, when you’re running 50 miles.
I was thinking about you this week, because I was remembering when I had my one and only big injury, in 2019. I injured my hip so badly that even with physio and dry needling three times a week, it was months before I was able to walk without limping. Looking back, I could see the signs clearly. I was way overdoing it, and not eating enough either. I was teaching like 10 classes a week, running three times a week, practicing my own yoga every day, and taking spin classes twice a week. I’m surprised I didn’t just crumble totally. But lesson learned for me, and that lesson was that I want to be able to be active my whole life, and so I really changed the way I viewed everything exercise related, to make it more of a “in it for the long haul” kind of thing.
Anyway, you asked about podcasts. We have very different taste, so I’m not recommending this to you, but I love Were You Raised By Wolves, Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend, Forever 35, The Deep Dive, Bad on Paper. I also like the occasional Ologies and Science Vs. I think that’s all of my favourites but I’m sure as soon as I submit this I’ll remember something else.
Actually I’ve listened to a little bit of Bad on Paper, after you talked about them in a blog post. I like it! I’ll look at some of the other ones you mentioned- I’ve been mixing things up lately.
Yes, having an injury where you can’t even walk really puts things in perspective. I guess injuries can really teach us important things, if we’re willing to listen to what our bodies are saying.
I think that picture is amazing! It looks intense because it is intense. I’d print that off and frame it as a jumbo print if it was me (said as someone who can barely run a few km right now and would have quit at the starting line!). Seriously, Jenny, you are in inspiration with your incredible fitness level and tenacity. I really wise the outcome had been different as it didn’t represent the effort you put in to preparing, but I’m still gobsmacked at what you went through and how you’re rebounding and hoping to be able to do another race soon?! So. impressive.
I don’t listen to many podcasts – favourites are Girl Next Door and Under the Influence.
I like Girl Next Door! Never heard of Under the Influence but I’ll look it up.
I don’t know… I think I’ll pass on framing this photo, ha ha. Hopefully I’ll have other race photos in the future that will evoke more positive memories!
Jenny, I LOVE THAT PICTURE! You look like you’re in beast mode. And you can really tell that it was just pouring during your race – how freaking miserable.
Asking for help is the hardest thing, especially when it feels physical and you don’t want to admit things are feeling hard. I’ve twisted/sprained/broken my ankle so many times (too many) and always try to walk it off and pretend everything is FINE when it’s obviously not. I feel you on that!
Ha, okay, I like that re-framing. I was in Beast Mode! Better than, I look totally insane.
Ugh, my ankle is aching just reading your comment. Your poor ankle!!!
I’ve been working with college students a lot lately, students who are struggling. I honestly mostly just call them and listen to them and commiserate and don’t actually do much or even offer them many resources. And you know what? So many of them are just happy that someone called to check on them and they say they feel so much better after talking with me. Lesson learned: just reach out and ask how people are doing. Sometimes (most of the time?) all you have to do is listen.
Yes, and just reading your comment made me think of someone who’s struggling right now that I want to reach out to. Thank you!
What a good look back for lessons, Jenny! It must be so hard in the moment to pause and ask for help when you’re thinking of the end goal. Here’s to the next one and having that in your toolkit! I’m having one of those weeks where it seems like the universe only wants to teach me lessons, haha, sigh. A few that come to mind “don’t say you can’t until you try”, “if someone shows you who they are, believe it”, and “chocolate melts so don’t hold on to it too tight”!
Um, yes I know those weeks! Sometimes you want to say “Thank you Universe, but I’ve learned enough for now!”
Hindsight is 20 20.
In my marathon when I had a cramp for 16 miles why didn’t stop at a medical tent and ask for help?
Why did I walk fast with friends from miles 8-10 when I dont usually do that.?
Will I learn? Yes but probably make new mistakes.
Ha, that’s true- there are always new mistakes to be made.
When we are in the race/run, sometimes we do get irrational, i totally get it because we are so focused. It’s good to step back and reflect so we learn and be wiser next time.
I didn’t know there’s foot chiropractor, what does he do? how does it differ from PT? I’m intrigued.
This guy is an overall sports chiropractor, but he’ll do massage techniques, ART, scraping, I know in the past he’s adjusted my ankles… so I’m hoping he’ll have some therapies for me.
Those are such great takeaways, Jenny! It is so hard to ask for help, and sometimes even harder to admit we need it.
I love that photo of you. I see a complete badass who is fierce and ready to tackle anything even though it is pouring!
I can’t even remember that photo being taken, actually. I guess I was feeling like a badass? Or maybe my face was just having spasm, ha ha.
Hahaha, love the race photo! Funny yet awesome at the same time. I always make the weirdest faces in candid photos and it makes me a little concerned because I mean that’s probably how my face looks a lot of the time then?! 😬 Glad you have been reflecting on things.. you’ve handled this all so admirably! If something crappy has to happen, might as well at least learn from it. What’s that saying? “You never lose. Either you win or you learn”. Good luck with the sports chiro! I hope you can get to your April 29th race, BUT, know that if you can’t, there will be another race after that!
Omg, I’m laughing- I hope my face doesn’t look like that normally.
Yes, I’ve heard that quote- either you win or you learn. So true!!!
I actually love that race photo! You look like you are having a good time! My race photos are typically bad. I usually look like I am working hard and not having fun!
The aid station thing is tough. I think it takes time to ditch the habits of road racing where the goal is to get through aid stations FAST. But trail running is so different. It’s ok to hang at the race station and make sure you have what you need. And just kind of have some fun? At least that was my takeaway from the trail races I did. I was never trying to run an aggressive pace or hit an aggressive time goal so I tried to treat the race more like a training run. But hey, you learned something from the experience!!
Yes, I guess that’s true. In a road race you don’t hang out at the aid stations, so it’s just a different mindset. Live and learn!
Well, it’s not always easy to ask for help and I can relate that sometimes we don’t even think of that option. At least for me!
I like that race photo of you!! You look energetic and in action! I agree the face is a bit odd but my first thought was just that you were in the middle of something. Look at pros when they cross the marathon finish line and they have weird faces too! Actually, I mentioned “training faces” on my new Instagram recently – I’ve been filming myself recently and my lunge/squat faces are not pretty!
Omg I’m sure my squat faces are bizarre. If I can’t run and look normal, I definitely can’t look normal while I’m squatting.
That photo is hilarious! I have some that are pretty bad, mostly due to my muscles and skin looking like I melted them in an oven or something. Where does that extra skin come from!? It is not there when I am standing still, but boy, if you catch me in action, it is flopping around everywhere! We should have a worst race photo link up!
I totally agree with getting help, and also stopping at aid stations to fix whatever needs fixing, and to eat, even if you are not hungry. The number one issue I have seen with my ultrarunning friends is that they are in too much of a hurry to stop to eat, but then they get behind on nutrition, bonk, and have to sit at the next aid station for many minutes or sometimes hours, before they can recover. Eat early and often, as they say!
Yes, eat early and often, and also take care of any little problems right away before they become huge problems. I’ve always heard that, but I guess I needed to learn it firsthand.