As a former collegiate runner, I know all too well how disappointing a bad race can be. There are few things more frustrating than putting in months of training and hard work, only to have a bad race day. Whether it’s because of bad weather, an injury flare up, or just an off day, a bad race can ruin your whole day. It can leave you feeling disappointed, discouraged, and a gross feeling that is hard to shake.

However, it's important to remember that a bad race is normal. You can’t PR every race. Setbacks are a natural part of the training process, but can be hard to overcome. There are a few steps I take after a bad race to move on and keep working on my goals.

Allow Yourself to Feel Disappointed

The first step in bouncing back after a bad race is to allow yourself to feel all of the emotions. Feel the sadness and disappointment of the bad race. It's natural to feel upset, frustrated, and discouraged after putting in so much effort and not seeing the results you were hoping for. However, it's important to remember that disappointment is a normal part of the process, and that it's okay to feel upset for a little while. Give yourself permission to grieve the bad race, then focus on what you need to do to be okay to move forward.

Analyze What Went Wrong

Once you've allowed yourself to process the feelings, it's time to start analyzing what went wrong. Sit down with a pen and paper, then write down what you can remember about the race. Circle things that you think could have contributed to your poor performance. Were there hills you weren’t expecting? Did you hydrate enough? When did you take your last gel? Was there a new pain that came out of nowhere? Reflect on the race and identify how you could do better next time.

Adjust Your Training Plan

Based on your analysis of the race, adjust your training plan as needed. If your fueling wasn’t quite right, practice your fueling strategy on every long run next time. Maybe you weren’t prepared for the hot conditions of your race, so this time around you schedule in runs during a hotter part of the day. Or maybe you need to change up your mileage and increase or decrease your mileage, adjust your diet or sleep habits, or incorporate more strength training. Remember, setbacks are a normal part of training and adjusting your plan is normal and something I do often.

Revisit Your Goals

Finally, it's important to take a look at your goals to see if you can set any more step goals (little goals on your way to the big goal). This might mean signing up for a new race to give yourself a chance to redeem yourself, or extending your timeline. By setting new goals, you can stay focused on your training and help keep you motivated to continue working towards success.

Bouncing back after a bad race can be challenging, but remember that it’s normal and can happen more than you’d like it too. Having bad races and runs can make the good ones feel much sweeter when they happen. The most successful athletes have off days, just look at Eliud Kipchoge at the Boston Marathon. If he can move on and keep training, so can you! I believe in you, runner. Just keep showing up.