I ran a half marathon on 30 August 2015.
In preparation, I watched a video clip someone had posted of the route. This enabled me to think about how I would approach the run to pace myself, particularly with there being a long uphill section at the outset and the prospect of slower runners to overtake.
On the day of the race, I told myself to enjoy it. This was the race for real, not the visualisation.
It struck me that the memory I would be left with would be very similar to the visualisation, if everything went to plan.
Of course, the memory has real moments that I could not have imagined: the runner dressed as spiderman, the spectator who thought it hilarious to shout 'take your feet of the brakes' as the runners streamed past, the extreme weather during the last 5 km.
But much of what I recall of the race could just as well be from the visualisation. My memory tag is stopping at a prearranged point along the route for a photo with my wife. That image was already in my visualisation.
Visualisation and memory are both proxies.
The reality was the experience.
I have my next race already booked.
In preparation, I watched a video clip someone had posted of the route. This enabled me to think about how I would approach the run to pace myself, particularly with there being a long uphill section at the outset and the prospect of slower runners to overtake.
On the day of the race, I told myself to enjoy it. This was the race for real, not the visualisation.
It struck me that the memory I would be left with would be very similar to the visualisation, if everything went to plan.
Of course, the memory has real moments that I could not have imagined: the runner dressed as spiderman, the spectator who thought it hilarious to shout 'take your feet of the brakes' as the runners streamed past, the extreme weather during the last 5 km.
But much of what I recall of the race could just as well be from the visualisation. My memory tag is stopping at a prearranged point along the route for a photo with my wife. That image was already in my visualisation.
Visualisation and memory are both proxies.
The reality was the experience.
I have my next race already booked.
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