I totally needed to read this post today. My inner critic actually told me that my 5 miler was a fail this morning. Come on- I’m coming off of a marathon for goodness sake! GAH! I must STOP the insanity!! 🙂 Thanks for the reminder!

Everytime I work out I feel like it’s an accomplishment! It’s funny how your failure would be my success!

Happy valentine’s day! Good for you for banishing the word failure.. i think more of us need to take this advice.

I think banishing the word “Failure” is a great idea– I could apply that to SO many areas of my life!

Great job! It’s so difficult sometimes to stick with a workout when you know it isn’t your best ever. But, it’s days like today when the run is tough that make you stronger for the big event. You didn’t stop today and you won’t when the triathalon gets tiring or overwhelming. You’ll push right through!!

Thankyou for this post!! I had one of those really crappy runs on friday – sore, irritable and slow – but I kept going and at the end was soo proud of myself for finishing it – even though it was only 8miles (and I was v tired!) when I can do half marathons way faster!
It’s GREAT to know other fit runners get that feeling too – and you have the best, healthiest attitude!! I’m picking up on that I think. I’m starting to define how good a day is by THAT day, not what I’ve done previously – like you said in your post. It really helps, so thankyou 🙂

And equally thankyou for the link for Valentine’s haters :p
Have a great time with your husband, you deserve it 🙂

I contemplated not doing my workout this morning but I did the old I’ll just go for 20 minutes technique. I ended up staying for 60 minutes and it was awesome. When I’m in the middle of a workout and I feel like quitting I say to myself just keep going as opposed to don’t stop.

Totally agree with you! Running is never a failure, the fact that our bodies can run 6 miles is an accomplishment!
Have a great valentines day!

I really like that.

It’s funny sometimes how once upon a time just going for a run is not a failure. Then as you get better and better, and run regularly it’s suddnely like, being slow is a failure. Or not getting in that five k is a failure. Sometimes we need to back up and accept that not every run will be perfect.

Thank you very much for posting this! It came at a good time. I woke up thinking that I really didn’t want to go to the gym today because I know I can’t bang out the mileage I would if I were able to run outside (it’s still snowy here so I can’t run outside). But anything is better than sitting here on my butt reading blogs all day. So I’m going to put my gym clothes on and get my butt moving!! Thank you, Caitlin!

Happy Chinese New Year 🙂

Thank you for inspiring me to banish the word failure! I’m the same with pushing myself so hard and if I don’t live up to my expectations I feel disappointed. But like you, I like to remind myself, damn I just ran 6 miles especially when three years ago I could barely run 2 miles without walking. Keep up the inspiration 🙂

Great post!!!
Very very true. In theory, my philosophy is if i’m doing my best, then that’s all I can do. If I try, then I succeed. Maybe not what I’d like… but it’s my best. Failure is not trying or giving in to negative thoughts.

I call a workout a success if I worked hard at it. There are some days I run slow, but it’s better than the days that I don’t work out at all!

This goes exactly with the mindset I’ve been trying to use lately – Every time you’re out there doing something, you’re succeeding. All you can do is set goals for yourself for next time, but today, congratulate yourself on anything you have accomplished. Too frequently we focus on should’ves/could’ves/would’ves… let’s focus on what we have done and what we will do and why we rock! You rock today because you got out there and did something awesome for your body, then you came home and gave it some fuel – that’s great 🙂 Good going!

Today my workout was a failure. I walked to the gym in the rain, got there and realized that 1. I didn’t have my water bottle, 2. that a tendon in my ankle was bothering me and using the elliptical or running was unwise, 3. all the exercise bikes were taken, 4. that I need to study for my test next week, and 5. If I want to go to the mall today I didn’t really have time for the workout I wanted to do. So, instead of salvaging my trip to the gym and doing weights or stretching my ankle, I just left. I didn’t want to waste my tech t shirt on a workout I didn’t really want to do since I don’t plan on doing laundry for a few more days. Workout FAIL. It doesn’t upset me though because I’ve had good workouts all week, it was about time for a rest day anyway, it’s Valentine’s day, and I will do better tomorrow!

Such a nice husband you have!!!! I read your Valentine’s post from last year. That man is a keeper. 🙂

pushing through those thoughts of “failure” make you SUCH a stronger person! congrats on making it through your run and happy valentine’s day!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

I can’t wait to hear about the day he planned for you – how romantic!!

Today success was running in 14 degree snowy/windy weather. I ran at slower pace than normal, but I still got a good 45min run in. I was frozen and my face was numb at the end, but I still got out there and did it. Failure would have been staying on the couch eating the rest of the my box of chocolates!

I figure if i got out the door, it was a success. and that a take at least a few steps after that 😉

great job w/ the run. kinda seems like everyones runs were off a bit this weekend.

Thanks for the positive outlook! I’m new to running (and blogging) and I was so hard on myself at first that I started to forget why I loved it in the first place. I try to remind myself that every run is an accomplishment and a learning experience.

A failure in a workout is a failure TO workout.
I hate to miss a workout.

I love this post! So much of how we feel and perform depends on the meaning we give things and the language we use to describe them. I used to think failure was “not achieving what I hoped to do,” but I have since redefined it as “giving up, or not learning anything in the process of not getting what I want YET.” So much more empowering.

Lately the word “Fail” appears everywhere, especially because of http://www.failblog.org and I posted about it a while ago because while the fail blog is entertaining, I noticed people were starting to use “FAIL” on their blogs and on twitter as a way of rating their performance on how they did at the gym, or on a run, or sticking to a healthy plan. I was always so “offended” by seeing that word typed out in caps because to me, it’s just plain negative to see the word and especially as a personal put down. I posted about it and had some commenters talk about their teenage daughters who talk about how their “bangs were a big FAIL” if they didn’t go right!

Time to fight against fail! rah rah rah!

(this is what a pregnant woman does when she can’t sleep at 3a.m.! lol)