Have you ever written a post-race reflection?
First-off, prior to your race, do a pre-event visualization and think about what your hopeful outcomes are.
For the post-race questionnaire, think about what were the actual outcomes.
I give my clients both a pre-race visualization and a post-race questionnaire.
Below, you will read about why you should do this, read my Temptation 200 post-race questionnaire, and be able to consider these seven questions for your own event.
Why you should do a post-race questionnaire
Sitting down and thoughtfully going through your race can improve our physical and mental approaches for next time.
It may reveal what worked, what didn’t work, and what you might want to change.
Consider what you had control over, what you didn’t have control over, and how could you have done things differently.
Try to not focus on only the “bad” and the “fails” and beat yourself up over them. Move forward.
Note that these happened and what your learned from them. Figure out how you can apply what you learned to a future event.
Take note of the things that went well and the things that you did right. How can you continue to practice the things that you did right?
A post-race questionnaire will highly benefit your mindset and mental health.
Writing down answers or journaling about your race will allow your brain to process what happened.
Journaling, in general, is good for our mental health. It will strengthen our growth mindset. Reinforcing growth and helping us to become better problem-solvers.
Link to my Temptation 200k race report at the end of this article.
Questionnaire
Event name
Temptation 200
Pre-event, what were your hopeful outcomes?
What were the actual outcomes?
My goal was to finish the race as efficiently as possible, nail my hydration and nutrition, have fun, socialize, stay upright, and not get injured.
The outcome was a 38:37:29.
First overall and the first female ever to finish the 200k.
The only other finisher (Rob) finished in 39:23:23.
My hydration and nutrition went well.
I did throw up at mile 79, it felt good and didn’t mess anything up even though it was probably everything in my stomach. A lot came up.
I did end up injuring my left leg some, solidifying my lead on Rob. It was worth it because I’ve always dreamed of the opportunity to flat out win a 100 miler.
Overall, it was a great weekend and grueling experience, which tested me physically and mentally.
Over the course of a couple of hours, I noticed my stomach feeling queasy. Leading up to hurling, I also noticed it become difficult to chew and swallow food. I was gagging on it.
At the time of throwing up, I was eating a banana. I feel that it was a combination of the exertion on my body building up over the hours and all of the foods I’ve consumed combine. Michel thinks that it was the banana.
What was the event like?
Hot, cold, wet, windy?
Crowded?
Poorly organized?
The morning and night temperature was around 60 F. The daytime high was 87 F. It was sunny for the majority of the race, but the trees provided enough shade in sections.
The aid stations provided enough and the RDs and volunteers were helpful and encouraging.
This race was a grassroots ultra and on the smaller size, as far as the participation number.
I picked up on the close-knit, family vibe of the event.
The course itself was mostly double-track and sand. The sand was way worse than I anticipated. A TON of sand! Where did it come from?!
Prickly Pear Cactus, jaggers, briers, poison ivy and oak, flies, and mosquitos. What an inhospitable trail. It was nuts.
After a while, I gave up avoiding everything except for the cacti. Didn’t care if I got poison ivy (I didn’t end up getting any).
How do you feel about the results?
This may include time, your placing, and how you performed regardless of those numerical results.
How do you FEEL about your performance?
I am very happy with my results. Besides getting injured, my race was near perfect and I got the challenge that I was looking for and got t test out my mindset and mental toughness.
My race plan was flexible and I was able to develop new strategies, which was fun.
Since the trail was double-track, I took the inside paths to reduce my steps.
I stepped on the edges of the trail in the grasses and weeds in order to get better traction in the sand.
Eventually, probably around mile 70, I didn’t even notice the sand as much because I had the plan and got used to it.
I reached a deeper level in my pain cave. A fourth level. That was interesting to think about.
On loop 7, I didn’t know that anyone else was left in the race. I was decently out-of-it (most of loop 8 I didn’t recognize).
Leaving for loop 8, I learned that Shirtless Rob (what people called him because he wasn’t wearing a shirt. The bugs were so bad, I don’t know how he did it.) was still in the race and that I was in first place.
I was literally just doing my own thing up until this time. Just out having a grueling adventure, looking to finish the 200k.
Hearing of Rob, and not knowing how he was doing, concerned me because I thought that he might try to catch me and overtake first place.
I exclaimed to my pacer, Michael, “Shirtless Rob can’t pass me!” Michael looks at me and says, “is first place your top goal?” “Yes,” I responded. We took off. I had a ton of fun running really fast with Michael.
We have the same running coach and I work with Michael because I am the assistant running coach and client success coach. It was so cool to run with Michael and such a pleasure.
I was surprised that my legs could still move like that long after crossing 100 miles. It made me feel strong and accomplished. This was my first time running over 100 miles.
At an aid station, I was told that Rob was having trouble with his hip flexors and was now using trekking poles. I still didn’t want to give him a chance to catch me, he’s a very good runner.
Michael helped me stay on track, with my pace up, until I knew that I needed to stop running because of my leg injury.
At that point, we were feeling okay about our lead and were able to hike in the last four or so miles of the race.
That whole 8th loop to me didn’t exist. Like I said, I was too far gone mentally and some of it didn’t look familiar.
I switched my mindset from one for a 200k to running a 16 mile race. It was me verse Rob in a 16 mile race, and the person who could suffer or persevere the greatest would win.
There were times where I worried that he would come up behind me. My eyes were tempted to keep glancing over my shoulder.
However, I forced myself to pay attention to myself because it was my performance that mattered.
I repeated to myself hundreds of time, “work harder.” I focused on working efficiently and tried to hike quickly in the deep sand and on the hills (which I am a terrible power hiker).
When a worry about Rob popped into my mind, I noticed that my pace slowed. “Work harder.”
What area of the event could have been executed better?
Sleep, lodging, travel, intra-race nutrition, better course scouting, etc?
Please expand upon your answer.
Sleep prior to the event could have been better because I never fell asleep.
It is always hard to sleep the night before a race, I’m prone to insomnia when I’m sleeping somewhere new.
I could have planned to do a sock and shoe change (and cake on more body glide) to take better care of my feet and to reduce blisters.
In your training, what do you think could have done better to improve performance on this day?
Nothing
What part(s) of training do you think helped this event, the most?
The combination of long runs, speed days, hill repeats, and strength training.
What event or events are next?
I’m not sure what next year looks like, but I might be aiming for Laurel Highlands Ultra 70.5 and Oil Creek 100.
Anything else you’d like to add?
The hallucinations and ultra lean were wild. It was probably the most I’ve ever hallucinated and it was my first time developing the ultra lean.
I’m not sure if I could have done anything to prevent the ultra lean, it will be something that I try to research.
It didn’t seem to impact me much, I could feel that I was leaning and would just try to straighten up my form.
Temptation 200k Race Report
Temptation 200k Pre-Race Questionnaire
Read my pre-race questionnaire here.
Related ultrarunning mindset and mental wellness content
The “I’m too Slow of a Runner” Mental Struggle
Visualize How Your Race Training Fits Into Your Week For Success
Mood Boosting Self-Care and Healthy Habits
Ultrarunner Talks Body Image – Player Development
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