So, I got my official race time results back and I’m going to break one of the cardinal running rules* I learned in the beginner’s marathon training books I read about setting your race goal and being satisfied with it. The books have some pearls of wisdom in goal-setting that clearly apply to more than just running. One of the running books talked about determining if your goal was to be a completer or a competer.

Interestingly, this reminds me a lot of an article I read in Real Simple magazine that said there are two kinds of decision-makers: satisfiers and maximizers. Satisfiers just want to make a decision and move on. Maximizers “just” want to make the absolute best decision possible. Unsurprisingly, the article concluded that generally “satisfiers” are happier people through their ease of decision making. While “maximizers” may have some euphoric decision-making successes, they are generally stressed out all the time due to an acute case of perfection. Ha! I know which one I tend to be. So, what does making a choice versus making the best-choice-ever-invented have to do with running?

The books say that once you decide to be a completer or a competer you have to stick to what that means. So, if you choose to be a completer and to just make it across the finish line in all your ragged glory than be satisfied with that. Now, if you choose to be a competer, than damn straight, you have all rights deserved to brag or complain about your time…you, “maximizer,” you! The cardinal rule is: don’t change your tune once you’ve crossed the finish line.

All that being said…my official race results for my first half-marathon are 2 hours and 23 minutes, putting me near the middle of the pack of my division, 472 of 840 (that would be the slow “completer” division) and overall, I came in 2,364th place. Of course, I was thrilled to just make it to the finish line, even if they didn’t have a beer waiting for me, but let’s be honest (*here’s where I break the rule). I’m pretty happy with my time, even if it was 10 minutes slower than expected…

Official half-marathon "completer" time

Official half-marathon "completer" time. Casey Williams was clearly not in my division (15 seconds slower, but ran 13 more miles than me!)

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