Fear of Feedback

First off, Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be With you...



Second, if you don't like Star Wars, Welcome to Star Wars Geel Awareness day!

I have run and trained with Roger for over a year, and weight training for almost 2 years. I call him my trainer/ Evil Running dictator, because he helps me with training, and never lets me get too comfy with my running, and pushes me to do better, and faster. The Evil dictator, comes in when he makes me run 3 miles in the rain and does not let me skip long runs, even after I offer ice cream.


No, this was not the "Let's not run today" Ice cream. This was the "We are running a marathon tomorrow" ice cream.

He gives me feedback on my races, based on my Garmin or Map My Run charts and numbers. And although some days it's hard to hear, his advice has helped me improve my speed. Like any human being, hearing criticism is not always easy, but I have learned to listen to it, digest it and work on improving.

However, Roger does not like it when I give him feedback. I don't know if he thinks that I am so new to running that I have nothing to offer, or because he is a college professor, he thinks he just knows everything. But he has also dearly paid for not listening to my advice. Right before the RnR DC, I told him to put on the body glide on his nipples, and on his toes...his response "I don't need it, it's ONLY a half marathon, and my socks and top are wick away".... Yeah.... ok.... bloody nippies and giant blood blister later, he is finally willing to at least go over the pre-race check list with me. (TMI, but this is a running blog!)

I was listening to the Another Mother Runner Podcast, in which the coach reviews with Sarah a race performance review for her Boston Marathon. I found it very interesting, and got me thinking... Would we be willing to take real, honest and raw advice from a coach or other runners? It sounds really scary to me. To have somebody tell me what I did wrong sounds terrifying! is it because I prefer nice and friendly feedback? Is it my human nature? I don't know. I listen to feedback from Roger, I process it and either put it to practice. But he loves me (on the days we are not fighting about who is going to make dinner), and I take his advice in a positive way.

But I have come to learn that this blogging community is awesome, supportive and they keep me real... So, consciously making a decision to be fearless on advice and feedback.




How about you? Does advice from other runners scare you? Would you want real/raw advice from random people on your blog?

And for the first time I'm linking up with Deb from Deb Runs, for the Wednesday Work Link up.



Comments

  1. Personally, I like feedback or when people share similar stories because sometimes I am too "IN IT" to realize my mistakes, if you know what I mean? Sometimes it is not fun to hear because when we put our all into something and our best foot forward, we want to think we did everything right.

    HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER, while it is easy for me to take advice/criticism (and weight it appropriately) from my blog comments, there have been certain commenters who just rub me the wrong way. If they sound know it all-y, I shut down. Maybe that is a flaw in me, but I just don't respond well to that. Also, I get pissed if they CLEARLY didn't read the post. Like if you are going to give your two cents on something (and a lot of times I ask for everyone's two cents) just read the post so you know what you're talking about.

    Rant over. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rant Away girl! I agree! If somebody is going to offer feedback, they better have read the entire post!

      Delete
  2. I like getting honest feedback from runners, but I only like it when I'm looking for it. I once met an endurance athlete right after I'd run my first full. I was so proud of finishing and he literally talked for 20 minutes about things I should change the next time I did a marathon. I was like, "dude, I didn't ask for your opinion." But if I know and respect the runner, I like to hear ideas - especially if the feedback is presented in a nice way - because I trust they want to help me improve!

    I guess Roger will trust you from now on!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ali, I think that guy qualifies for the "I like to hear myself talking" award.

      And I think the only thing people are allowed to tell runners who just finished a marathon is "congratulations!"

      Roger better listen to me, because I'm almost always right !!

      Delete
  3. I like to hear other runners' experiences but I take it with a grain of salt because I know myself and how I need to adjust it for my own training.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sonia, you are right, it's nice to hear advice, but we are on our own path, with different goals.

      Delete
  4. Advice from other runners? Hmmm. I see a lot of bad advice out there, so I guess I have to say it depends on who is giving the advice.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I totally agree with Sonia and Wendy---I do enjoy constructive running feedback if I trust the source, bc everyone is an expert on the internet:) Your ice cream looks yummy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lauren,

      You are so right ! Everybody is an expert online !! The ice cream was delicious! Triple chocolate that included white chocolate, yummy!

      Delete
  6. It's hard to hear criticism! And sometimes what people think is the right thing/way doesn't work for every individual. We are all very different as runners. I guess it's our job to find what works for us and weed out everything else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Holly, I agree, we are different runners and what works for one, might not work for
      Other.

      Delete
  7. Personally, I like feedback - positive and negative. But I am kind of afraid of confrontation and I think there are good ways to provide criticism. In the end, though, if it's going to allow me to better myself I'm all for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Meagan! You make an excellent point there ! Anything to become better!!

      Delete
  8. I appreciate feedback, but whether or not I take action on it is another story. ;-) That's one of the things I love about the running and fitness blogging community; we stand to learn so much from each other!

    Thanks for linking up! It's great to have you on board! And yes, I realize I'm a week behind on my reading and responding - sorry!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb, no worries! It's been a hectic busy week! Thanks for the link up!

      Delete

Post a Comment