Episode 137: Lessons on Mindset, Pacing, and Goal-Setting from the B.A.A. 10K
In this week's episode, we recap Katie's postpartum 10K race and the lessons that came from a tough but rewarding day on the course, including where and how her pacing strategy didn’t go exactly according to plan, the mental strategies that helped her stay in the fight, and why she's actually more proud of this race than others that went "better" on paper. We also discuss race-day mindset, building goals that truly resonate, why every race is a rich learning environment, and how to think about racing as simply an expression of your fitness on that particular day. We wrap with reflections on Western States, evolving training philosophies in ultrarunning, and why your "normal" in training should evolve with different seasons of life. Check it out!
Katie:
10K insights!
Following up on our last ep about feeling burnt, I focused on minimum effective dose and some tweaks to training plan in the final few weeks leading up to race day
the good news: immediately saw some positive feedback from the body in terms of overall feeling, distribution of great/fine/bad workouts, and excitement/confidence with those modifications
lesson: sometimes the changes to your basic week don’t have to be crazy or all or nothing to see a real physical and mental shift. I essentially dropped some supplementary bike workouts, swapped a recovery swim for a total rest day, and shortened a few runs by maybe 10-15’
still, not enough sleep has been a continued major challenge, so I would say I was mainly just feeling “fine” as opposed to great or bad
knew that pairing these physical changes with mental prep would be essential for having a good race experience
Mental prep
Mental prep worksheet!! Strategy section, mental work (negative narrative reframe), stuff to remember, cookie jar, mantras
I think the most helpful section for me to feel excited to race and ok with any outcome was stuff to remember. I wrote:
Showing up and toeing the starting line is a huge deal
Being able to show up and even SET goals to run a PR reflects a lot of hard work
This is all about learning
A race is simply an expression of fitness on that day in those conditions
Goals:
A: sub 40
B: PR
C: give it my all, learn
Race morning reflections
Do not look at things like sleep score or even % humidity the morning of, can only negatively affect mindset
I didn’t and am glad I didn’t bc sleep was yet again atrocious; Luke was practicing his new skill “joyful shriek” from 12:05-1:17 and 4-4:30 am
This also helped take pressure off bc it was such a different “curveball” or “challenge” I’ve faced leading up to a race than ever before that it was kind of funny
Potential warning sign: it wasn’t crazy hot out when I walked out the door, maybe high 60s or 70 but I was absolutely dripping sweat and it wasn’t evaporating off me after the warmup. Humidity (which I later learned was 70%) was going to be a factor; maybe should have reframed that element of goals and expectations a little
Race itself:
Plan was to go out at 6:35 or so, 10 sec off A goal pace, see how I was feeling and work down. Don’t stare at watch in first mile, focus on smooth
Corrals: wave 1 was sub 9min per mile, wave 2 9-10min per mile, wave 3 >10min per mile; this made it hard to know where to self seed within wave 1 because there was such a range
Gun went off and I felt great for the first mile, focusing on smooth; then watch buzzed and I realized I had run 6:17, basically 20 seconds too fast
In retrospect, I think I seeded too fast and just started running at the speed of traffic around me, and taper + adrenaline pushed me along way faster than body could hold for 6.2 miles
Ultimately held that pace for almost 5k, then started to get really dizzy and was hurting badly/ above threshold HR, so had to back off big time for the back half and positive split by quite a lot
Ran hard in the home stretch to still squeak out a ~15 sec PR, but probably ran that time in about the most painful way possible lol
Lessons/takeaways
Reminding myself that this is an FFT! I have done very few road races and there are impt differences from triathlon, especially given that in a tri you have already shaken out all of that initial adrenaline by the time you get to the run. In future short ish run races I will really need to practice holding back in the beginning. “If you ask yourself if you are going too fast you are probably going too fast.” And also maybe check pace at 0.5 miles in
The longer the race the more room for error! Short distance racing is hard bc the margin for error is so small. 10k is a weird middle spot and strategically challenging because you do have to hold back somewhat in the beginning but not too much
I do feel excited to try again because I think I learned a lot about strategy, which I think was my main limiter rather than fitness. First time that has happened for me in recent memory!
Ultimately I crossed the finish line proud of myself for giving it my best effort in a crazy time in life, and I had to fight really hard to not just start walking at miles 4-5/ still try for B goal when wheels were off the bus. This in some ways felt better than my sprint tri, where mentally I crossed the line feeling like I had held back or still had something in the tank. This time the tank was empty at mile 3.5 and I still kept going. “Swung and missed but never quit” mantra was helpful here
Elena:
1) Broken Arrow & Western States week!
Anna Gibson’s last minute pass for the win in the VK
The energy around the trail community this week with TrailCon and the media coverage, etc.
Different training methodologies on display→ massive volume chunks vs. speed training and lower volume. Neither is necessarily correct, but it’s an interesting experiment. Perhaps a conversation for next time after we see how it plays out for all the athletes
The focus and mental space required to participate in such a big event: “ I’ve learned that 100 miles isn’t something to do just because you’re capable of it. It demands your full commitment, your energy, and your excitement… Western States deserves that. When it gets tough, which is always does, you need to have passion and willingness to fight. This year, I don’t think I can give it that.” – Keely on declining her F9 spot this year.
“Why did I feel like I should do it more than I wanted to do it?”
2) Evaluating Your Brain's Relationship with Running
I’ve been doing a lot more simple, shorter runs since workouts and, in general, “pushing” hasn’t been feeling so good
Interesting to be reminded that this is how running was for me for a longggg time. As I’ve started doing this, I’m finding myself more motivated to just get up and go, because the pressure is low and the association of joy is rebuilding
Strava is a highlight reel that quietly redefines your "normal" — 20-30 mile weekend long runs on vert become the baseline if you're not careful
The brain is incredibly plastic — what feels like "not enough" right now can be reset, and that's a feature, not a bug
Joy in movement is a renewable resource but you can deplete it, and you have to tend to it intentionally
Rechanneling challenges into different athletic endeavors (for me, yoga, strength, pilates). Outsourcing accountability and structure when that load gets too high (the argument for a coach too!)
Challenge of the week
Katie: Catch negative self talk in training and work on reframes or challenging the thought so it becomes automatic in racing
Elena: Reflect on what your “normal” has been through different phases of your life. What were the pros and cons of each phase?
Gear pick of the week