I take it back, I’m beating the dead horse with a stick, well, a twig really. I feel like I need to clarify some phrasings. I feel like I’m being misunderstood for being disappointed with the marathon.
There’s no need to babble, I’ll just go:
Reasonable – To have reason. Errr… To not set outlandish goals or expectations for myself.
Example: My goal for the Chicago Marathon was to finish somewhere between 4:15 and 4:30. This was a reasonable and attainable goal because the bulk of my long runs were done in a less than 10 minute per mile pace. The slowest pace was a 10:20. My 20 mile training run took 3:18, it was reasonable to set my goal in a 15 minute time span based off of that.
Expectations – To perform in a way that reflects my training. I expected to finish in a reasonable amount of time, based off of my training.
Example: I expected to run 26.2 miles at my long run pace at the very least. I expected my body to cooperate and not go out of order at the first sip of Gatorade.
Success – To have finished happy. NOT entirely based off of the finish time, but to have enjoyed running the marathon and not feel like shit for a good portion of it.
Example: I will have an example for you next spring.
Finding my happy pace 
There’s nothing wrong with being disappointed or feeling the blues after your marathon – it’s feelings like those that will push you to keep working to reach your peak potential. Only you know when you’ve reached that, and that’s when you’ll be satisfied and proud of your marathon finish. Keep on running!
There it is! Thank you Janice!
I can agree with that. But I do think part of being a blogger is being aware of how people read me, and being sensitive to them too.
Yes, you WILL have an example of success next spring 🙂 I feel your pain, lady. Not meeting one’s own expectations sucks ass. The next race will be the great one!
The marathon can be a cruel bitch….I am giving it one more shot next Spring to be friends..hell, even casual acquaintances would make me happy. Keep setting the goals…and kill ’em.
I like your glossary. ;0)
You’re right, you set reasonable expectations. It’s hard when your body won’t cooperate and you KNOW it’s capable. I sometimes feel betrayed by my legs! It’s hard – a marathon is a huge goal. You put your everything into it for 4 months and then race day….well, it doesn’t always go as planned. And it’s. It like you can just go run another one the next weekend to “make up” for it! Hang In there. You’ll have the race your know in your heart is out there!
YES,!!!! YOU SAID IT!!
Great insight in your glossary. I am contemplating “success.” I met my goal time for the ATM, but I didn’t really finish happy. I need an attitude djustment about that dang bridge.
WHAT??!!! You stole my jazz-hands finish photo! You looked plenty happy!
Sent from my iPhone
That was for you. 😀
You have every right to be pissed off….training for these things thakes an enormous amount of time, sacrifice, and dedication. Just stick to 2-3 day bad race blow up policy…or however long you think you need. Everyone around me knows mine is 48hrs so if I have a bad one they leave the vicinity or ride it out with me….it isn’t pretty, but neither is the training and racing 😉
Thanks. Honestly I AM over it & can’t wait to start the next round of training. I just needed to clarify this because I felt like people are disappointed in me for being disappointed in the first place! Sent from my iPhone
I think you’re beating yourself up too much, but I am the queen of doing that to myself. I’ve been struggling with not performing to my expectations too. There will be more marathons in your future that I’m sure you will dominate.
P.S. that picture made me chuckle.