Creating a new reason for a personal best, BUT "Your past performances are part of your story"

In this episode, Rochelle and Stevie explore the meaning of personal bests (PBs) in running, how to let go of old records, and focus on growth and longevity in the sport. They discuss mental reframing, redefining success, and practical ways to stay motivated without clinging to past achievements.

Take aways:

• The emotional significance of PBs for runners
• Why runners struggle to let go of old PBs
• The importance of mental reframing in running
• Redefining success and progress in running
• Practical strategies for focusing on growth and longevity

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi, I'm Rochelle, and this is my co-host Stevie. And together we are Ronversation, a conversational paced podcast for your easy-paced running journey. And we're here to chat about all things running, community, and everything in between.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Hey Stevie! And hello listeners, and welcome back to Ronversation. Over the last few episodes, we've spoken about consistency, inner dialogue, confidence dips, and comparison.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Today's conversation sits right in the centre of all of that.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Because at some point in every runner's journey, there comes a moment where you have to find your past performances.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Your personal records, otherwise known as your PRs, or to some people, PBs.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

More importantly, whether you're still chasing them. But before we get into it, Rochelle, what did you see on your run or in the gym this week?

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Okay, this is gonna like really shock you. Because it's not something that happens very often anymore. It's like a real old school thing. Saturday morning after my 30-minute easy run, before I started coaching, there was at the Narrows Bridge this old fella who drove up in his truck, which had like more of a tray back, not so much like a full-on square truck. And inside a tiny little cage was like maybe 50 to 60. I think they're all pigeons or dulies. I don't know. Anyway, it turns out that they're like the whole homing pigeon scenario. He just opens up this cage and all these birds just flew out. And then he just drove off. So I'm guessing they know where they like where he lives, but like at the time I'm like, I didn't think that. I was like, oh, so where are these birds gonna go? Like, how are you gonna catch them? But yeah, they just flew off and it was actually quite like special to see because I'd never seen anything like that before. And they all flew like in a group off into the distance.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Yeah, and that would have been nice to see. And what so they just fly back to where he lives? That's what they do.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

They're called homing pigeons.

unknown 2:18

That's cool.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

So, yeah, so I saw that right as I finished my run and just before training started. So kind of like the whole group got to see it as well, which was pretty nice. Um but what about you? What did you see on your runner in the gym?

SPEAKER_00 2:30

Um, so pretty boring compared to what you saw, but I did see a bird. Um I was running along a trail. Never seen this kind of bird before. Black bird with like super long legs, and it was just walking up the track. But as I came up running behind it, it I swear it like turned around and looked at me and then flew off. Yeah. Interesting. I should find out what kind of bird it was, but I've never seen one before.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Um really good at knowing what animals are. You know, Christian in the training group. Oh, yeah, yeah. He has like the best knowledge on like birds and just animals in general. I'm sure if you said to Christian, hey, I saw this bird, it was black with long legs, he'd be like, it's this.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Yeah, I should ask him. You should ask him. Yeah, so that's what I saw this week. Cool, awesome. And then, yeah, so today I would like to ask you more questions than usual, Rochelle. Maybe they feel personal. First question is what do you think a PB actually represents for most runners or maybe for yourself?

SPEAKER_01 3:40

I think for a lot of runners, a PR represents more than just time. It represents a version of themselves. And I know we've had a similar conversation in the past, but it's kind of more of a moment where everything aligns and your fitness, life, and mindset all gels into one. Um, but then in saying that, things change and I've learned personally that my old PRs need to be celebrated and remembered. So now when I look at personal records, I look at mine as more of like an execution or as like a progress. For example, um, I know that my half marathon PR is one hour 15. And that's for the half marathon that I did in Bustle 10 back in 2018, I think it was. Um and now I'm more focused on the same distance because I'm not doing any marathons this year. I want to try and improve my personal best or my PRs more on output and progression. So for me, when I signed up for Bustleton this year, I based my outcome on the previous event that I had done, which was the Singapore 10K. So for me, that was an event that I also wanted to just focus on executing pace, not necessarily placing or um getting a time. It was a race where I knew it was going to be hard and hot, and my fitness wasn't gonna match what I'd done previously, and it seemed to work and flow really well for me, more mindset. So going into Bustleton, I thought, right, I just want to run a little bit slower than what I did for my 10k in Singapore, and my goal pace was to run four minutes 15. I ended up running a little bit quicker than that. I think it was like 4'10 average. Um, and I walked away from that event feeling like really confident with where my fitness was at and where my mental sort of health was in terms of my running and my motivation. So now that I'm training for the HBF run for a reason, I would like to hopefully run five seconds per kilometer quicker than what I did in Busselton. And this is going to gain me momentum towards Melbourne later in the year. So whilst PRs for a lot of people are yeah, looking back on like what they could do, and they can sometimes be more ego-driven, PRs for me means something different now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

So for you, it's more about longevity and growth than just what you used to do.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Yeah, that's correct. Um, but like I said, for a lot of runners, personal records represent like a different version of themselves, um, a moment where everything aligned, fitness, lifestyle, mindset. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

All right, next question. Why do you think runners struggle to let go of old PBs even when their life or body has changed?

SPEAKER_01 6:55

I think it's a big part of like being familiar. So that PR represented something um solid, something you understood. It tells you what you were capable of, and there's it's kind of like a comfort in knowing that. So when things change, whether it's like your body, your routine, or your life, that certainty starts to feel a bit less and clear. So instead of creating a new reference point, it's easier to hold on to like the older ones because it kind of feels safer. So, like if you're talking to somebody about it, you know, I was a 115 half marathon runner, it feels safer to be able to say that because then the conversation is going to be easier to flow off rather than saying, oh, right now it's just about where I'm at, and then people start to question where you're at. So it's also simple and it's just a number and it's something to chase. But when you move into like a new season or like a different year of racing, success isn't always clear or it's not always measurable, and I think that's where runners can feel a little bit lost. So it's not always about ego, sometimes it's about trying to hold on to something that once made sense while you're still figuring out what success looks like now.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Yeah. And so is it rarely just about speed and fitness? I think it becomes more about identity, emotional memory reward, and self-expectation. The brain remembers the dopamine hit that comes with the PB, and letting go of that can feel like you're betraying the memory.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Yeah, so because you're acknowledging that you might not be that exact runner anymore. Um, and that can sometimes be hard to accept as well.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Yeah. So letting go requires more than just physical adaptation, it involves mental reframing. Yeah. And so, like, for me, improving as a runner isn't just about the numbers on the paper. Like, sure, a PB is an easy way to show progress and it feels great, but running faster doesn't automatically make you a better runner. I think real improvement comes from looking at other aspects of your running, like, for example, consistency in your training, how you manage certain like challenging training blocks, how your body responds now compared to it did back then, and how your training load is progressing. These are just as important, if not more important to me as a single PB. It's about constant growth and adaptation over time. Things change over time, and that's okay. And so, then at what point do you think chasing an old PB can actually become unhelpful?

SPEAKER_01 9:39

When it starts to take away from like your current experience, so that could show up as like demotivation or like negative responses around having to go for a run. You start to judge every run against what you used to be able to do. This can actually be quite unhealthy. Mentally, runners can start to struggle, which then creates a negative relationship with the sport. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

So instead of enjoying progress, you're constantly falling short.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

Exactly. And that can lead to like frustration or overtraining because you're trying to chase, um, or even losing the love of running, which nobody wants to do. No, definitely not.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Yeah, I feel like I've been at that point once before. I remember it, and it's not nice. It almost makes you feel like you don't want to run anymore. And yeah, that's not what it's about. And then how do runners start to shift their identity away from those old performances?

SPEAKER_01 10:36

I think it starts with like acceptance and then appreciating that you can still go out there and enjoy running. So understanding that you're not trying to recreate the past, but you're trying to just build something new.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Yeah, and that's a big shift.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

It doesn't mean that you're lowering like your standards, it's just meaning that you're adjusting what you need to do to match your current life, so your capacity and your goals. Like for me, it's about progress and small wins along the way. It's not necessarily about like chasing podiums or um big PBs anymore, it's just having some sort of longevity in the sport so that I can see little highlights along the way.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Yeah, nice. And if it's not always about chasing PRs, how should runners start defining success?

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Success can be consistency, which we've done previous episodes on. So showing up week after week, that can always be like a small little win within a training block. Um, and that you can make into a personal PR or record as well, like getting a streak on how many weeks in a row you can show up to training. It can be running pain-free to other people. So if you've been injured in the past, getting to a point where you can go out for a run and you're not even thinking about the injury or the pain that you had like two, three months ago. Um, or it could be like balancing your training with life. So mapping out your week each week and finding a routine that's going to suit your training and your lifestyle better.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Yeah, so success becomes broader.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Exactly. And it's often a little bit more sustainable when you look at it like that.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

Yeah, and then looking at as a coach, how do you approach this with athletes who are still holding tightly onto old PBs?

SPEAKER_01 12:30

So I try to meet them where they are mentally, and I try to reinforce them that sometimes letting go isn't necessarily throwing it away in the bin. Like you can always bring them back up and remember it. You can't, but you can't force somebody to let go either. So some things um, or sometimes people aren't ready to kind of let go of that, and that's okay as well. It's just understanding where they're at, but you can talk to them on a level of like your own experiences and your own relationship with running and your own goals. And when you talk to somebody on that level on your own experience, sometimes that can give them that like aha moment. So, for example, um, I've been talking to somebody about where they were, you know, 10 years ago as a younger runner as to where they are now, and just letting them know my own experiences, like, and I and I use Singapore as a really good example because for me that was kind of like my aha moment in terms of like getting back into racing again. Um, and I just explained to them as I just moved my um goalposts a little bit. I know that I'm not able to run at these paces at training, so I'm not gonna try and run at those paces in a race. And I just removed that, slowed my pace down, and just what made my goal for that race to be consistent, and that consistency actually has now turned my running into more of a growth pattern for me because I know I can grow from there and I'm enjoying that experience, even though I know I'm not where I was.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

So it's a process, yeah, but I also encourage them to focus on what they can control now, so like their effort, their consistency, and their mindset.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

I like that encouragement to focus on what they can control now, that's really important. So if a runner listening feels stuck comparing themselves to their old PR, what would you say to them?

SPEAKER_01 14:37

I'd say to them that their past performances are part of their story, but they're not defining who they are, like in their present. So you're allowed to evolve and you're allowed to change, and you're allowed to find a new meaning to why you're running.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Thanks for answering all those questions, Rochelle. And if this episode resonates with you, share it with someone you might be holding on to an old version of themselves.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

And if you're enjoying season two so far, make sure you subscribe so that you don't miss what's coming up next. And for now, let's keep the conversation going.