7 important questions to ask yourself after raceday

Everytime I take part in a race I have great ideas along the way. The only problem is that 24 hours later I tend to forget them all. So for that reason, one thing I love to do after every race is take time to download the thoughts from my head and onto paper before I forget them. I have diaries from well over 2 decades now of race reports, lessons learnt, notes to remember and lovely memories that without having written down soon after the race I'm sure would have been long forgotten. 

But It's not just to help my poor memory that I write all this down. In fact, I find I get great clarity when I'm in a race, or indeed after. It becomes very obvious from what is going through your mind whenn you have no distractions what your body is trying to tell you. So try it after your next race. Not sure where to start? Below I have a few questions you might like to answer. 

Last weekend I took part in the VHI Womens Mini Marathon with 25,000 other women around the streets of Dublin. We had a gang there of ladies who had followed our 5k to 10k coaching programme and it truly was a great day out seeing them all, hearing their stories and experiences as well as sharing the laughs (and a few tears). Thats what a big race day out is all about. As I ran along I wished I could take notes. I kept thinking of great blogs I could write, or ideas I could share. Unfortunately, due to all the celebrations after, I never wrote them down quickly, and now I've forgotten most, but a few things I did note I wanted to remember from the day out for future reference! 

1. The heat : This is not the time of a year to put pressure on a time (esp when the run is at the hottest part of the day). I wasnt running for a personal best, but for anyone who was, the heat is a big factor and one that I hope you all realise will have made this event harder than your usual training days out. That and having to run at the peak of the day is an added challenge! 

2. The crowds : They can be great for atmosphere, but they can also be a distraction - and a hazard - a few people fell in front of me over the course as very busy! We need to be extra vigilant in events like these, esp with lots of people stopping for pics, crossing roads etc. It can drain more energy than we realise! 

3. The buzz : Its hard to beat for sure and the view of all the bopping up and down heads heading out of the city is something special. I made a real effort to take in the noise of the cheerleaders, bands, chats and laughs I could hear all along the way. To run as such a big group powers you on. I know myself if i was solo id have gone slower or cut short my run in the heat! 

4. The pitstops : To be completely honest I was DELIGTHED every time we got to a water stop and I walked through each water station to reset and avoid the fuss of ducking and diving and drinking all at the same time. These 3 pitstops i find are great as they break your run into 4 sections, and maybe you, like me, only focussed on the section i was in, and getting to the next station! 

Lessons learnts for next time : These 4 points above are just a little example of the type of things I want to remember, but you also will have plenty more. I encourage people to track their training each week as they build up to a race so so they remember for the future, so it makes sense to do the same with race day so you can take your lessons learnt to your next big day out. 

So, now over to you, if you have done a race recently, here are a few questions to get you thinking and help you track whats important to remember for you: 

• - What was my favourite (and least favourite) thing about training for the race? 
• -What was my favourite (and least favourite) thing about race day? 
• Even if I didnt have perfect day - name 3 great things about race/training! 
• -Did I have any regrets on race day? Could I have done anything differently/better? 
• If I was doing that race again next year, what would I want to remember for training and race day. 
• Do I want to do more races or not in the next few months? What support do I need to get there? 
• What is the biggest obstable ive overcome to get this far - be honest - and celebrate now you have done it!!! Its a big deal!!! 

Once you get started writing you might be surprised all the advice you have for yourself! Keep the notes handy as they are brilliant to read as you train for your next event, and a good reminder to help you keep calm as you look over all you have done in the past which your most recent race now is a distant memory!