367: How to Evaluate and Improve Your Running Outcomes

If you missed last week's episode on committing to the process and avoiding second-guessing yourself, we highly recommend going back to listen to it, as this week's topic continues from where we left off. Today, we'll explore how to evaluate your results and why it's crucial for growth and improvement in your running and overall fitness.

This week, we discuss the importance of evaluating outcomes in running, highlighting the difference between success and failure. As mentioned, “You either get the result you want or the lesson that you need.” Success is often seen as a poor teacher, but that changes when we properly evaluate our outcomes, whether they align with our expectations or fall short.

The Importance of Evaluating Outcomes

Whether you've achieved your goal or not, taking the time to evaluate your outcome is crucial. We naturally tend to scrutinize our failures to understand what went wrong.

However, it’s equally important to evaluate success. Often, when we achieve our desired outcome, we stop analyzing and move on without fully understanding why we succeeded. By examining both positive and negative outcomes, we can identify what worked and what didn’t, allowing us to make more informed decisions moving forward.

Steps to Evaluating Your Outcome: 

List the Variables

The first step is to list all the variables that could have influenced your outcome. 

1. Mindset: Consider whether you mentally gave up during the race or training. Was your goal achievable in your mind? Your motivation, consistency, and mental strategies play significant roles in your outcome.

2. Consistency: Evaluate how closely you followed your training plan. Were you consistent, or did you frequently skip sessions? Did you skip certain types of sessions more than others? Consistency is key to any training program’s success.
 

3. Training Runs: Analyze your weekly mileage, speed sessions, and the overall quality of your runs. Were you pushing too hard or not hard enough? 
 

4. Strength Training: Did you include regular strength training in your regimen? Examine the type, frequency, and intensity of your strength sessions.
 

5. Nutrition: Proper fueling is crucial. Look at your overall daily nutrition, hydration, and specific race or workout fueling strategies.
 

6. Life Stress: External stressors can significantly impact training. Reflect on your stress levels and how you managed them.
 

7. Sleep and Recovery: Quality sleep and recovery days are essential for peak performance. Were you getting enough rest or feeling tired or exhausted much of the time?

Making Informed Changes

After listing the variables, identify one or two areas where you can make changes. Avoid the urge to overhaul everything at once. Making gradual adjustments allows you to pinpoint what’s working and what isn’t. For example, tweaking your nutrition or adjusting your sleep schedule can lead to better performance without overwhelming your system.

Enhancements vs. Changes

Enhancements are small tweaks that are likely to lead to positive improvements, while changes might have varied outcomes. Here are a few examples of enhancements that will almost always lead to positive improvements:

Improved Fueling: Gradually improve your nutrition around workouts. Focus on quality and timing.
 

More Sleep: Additional rest will almost always benefit your performance.
 

Stress Management: Learning to manage life stress effectively will improve your overall well-being and running performance.
 

Mental Strategies: Developing new mental tools can help you cope better with race-day pressures. 

Get Support: Joining a community or working with a coach can help you see blind spots in your training and help you feel more supported in your journey.

Evaluating your outcomes is a continuous process. Whether you achieved your goal or not, understanding the factors at play will help you make better decisions in the future. Remember, every outcome offers a lesson, and by carefully evaluating your performance, you can continue to grow as a runner.

If you have questions or need guidance with your training, feel free to reach out to us. Share this episode with friends, leave a review, and help us grow the Real Life Runners community.

Now get out there and run your life!