Coach Tip Tuesday: No One Cares What Your Time Is

This is it, folks!!  It’s Coach Tip Tuesday!!

This week I’m going to say something that’s going to come as a shock:  NO ONE cares about your time.  (Besides you, and your coach if you have one.)

What the heck am I talking about??  “Doesn’t everyone care about my time, Coach Coach Laura Henry??”  Nope, my friends.  I’m sorry to drop this bomb on you: They don’t care about your time.

I’ll use myself as an example: People will ask me if I’ve completed something, let’s say a 70.3-distance triathlon.  I respond, “Yes.”  In the 6+ years that I have been able to say yes to that question, not one person (seriously, not one) has followed up that question/response with, “Well, what were your times at those races??”

Why hasn’t anyone asked that??  Because they.don’t.care.  Seriously.  Time doesn’t matter.  Real talk: I finished my first 70.3 in 7:48:54 on a course that had an 8:00:00 time limit.  I was dead-freaking last.  Does it matter??  No.  I went out there that day, raced my own race, gave it my all, learned a ton, and crossed the finish line.  THAT’S what matters.  Sure, my coach cared what my time was.  But no one, literally no one, else ever has.

So why am I, a coach who never spills the deets on her own racing and times, telling you all about myself this week??  Because I want you all to know that time does NOT matter.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard athletes say, “I don't want to do that race because I might be slow.”  Or “I don’t think I’m going to go because I’m afraid of being last.”  These statements make me sad because I hate that athletes are holding themselves back from having a good experience because they’re concerned about other people’s perceptions or where they stack comparatively to others.  I especially hate this when it completely stops athletes from showing up to starting lines.

My greatest wish for ALL athletes is that they race for themselves and find joy in where they are.  Yes, there is a component to racing that includes placing and awards.  But the vast majority of us (and yes, that’s an us) will not ever place in the money, and we probably won’t win.  What we CAN “win” at is having great experiences.

So this week I challenge all of you to stop taking yourselves so dang seriously.  Don’t hold yourself back from an experience or race because of what YOU think someone will think.  Chances are, no one is even thinking what you’re afraid of.  Go out there on those race courses, race YOUR race, learn something about yourself along the way, have fun, and smile.  I promise, you won’t regret it. :)