Are you competitive with yourself? With other people?

I’m the Queen of Competitive, haha! My husband and I try to beat each other at EVERYTHING (and of course he always wins…) – we just can’t help ourselves! I once beat him at a game of miniature golf (on our honeymoon, 7 years ago), and of course I’m still gloating about it to this day… :)

I can be competitive….both with myself and others, but I feel like there are times when I am not at all competitive and I am totally fine with that! :). I think it is good to have a mix of both. I have at times finished a marathon along side someone and I felt like they were helping me to the finish…I didn’t feel the need to be competitive. I am working a little on the mental side of running because I can get competitive in a race and then if the person I am trying to catch or stay with gets too far ahead I tend to give up in my mind if that makes sense.
I live in MD…this is actually my first summer living here….SO humid. I am a late nighter too so my morning runs tend to be around 8 and a lot of them have been in 75-95% humidity!
I have only been to IKEA once…too big and too much hassle for me.

I’m SUPER competitive with my sister when it comes to athletic stuff too. But I’ll never tell her in competing with her because I’m afraid she’ll up her game and train more if she knows we’re competing lol. So basically I’m crazy and the only one actually competing, but it still counts if I win :)

I love IKEA but it can be overwhelming sometimes. I have to be in the right mindset and want to drive 2 hours to the closest one. I wish there was one where I live.

I’m over competitive in everything I do BUT! This year I’ve started to try and train smarter and plan what pace I’m going to run so while I used to race people whenever I could, I typically try and avoid competing and run what my body needs! I’ve actually switched directions on a trail so I could run in peace & not feel like I needed to run faster to “beat” them. Haha

i am so competitive; but the most competitive with myself. yesterday i had to make the challenging decision of stopping mid-workout to prevent injury. i have honed in on the advice from you and some of my favorite bloggers on preventing injury before it’s too late. so thank you for that!!

brooke is so cute and stylish. kudos momma!

Anymore, I just compete with myself. I’m hard on myself and am the first one to tell me “you can’t do that” – so then I just try to prove myself wrong. It works 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time it just teaches me that I need to work harder :)

And I live in VA where it’s, like, 100% humidity all the time. Drying ones hair in the summer is pointless. I break a sweat going for a walk with the dog and stroller just because it’s so sticky. I envy your 3% humidity!

I’m not a big Ikea fan. The last couple pieces of furniture I’ve gotten there haven’t been very sturdy. Then again, they didn’t cost very much, so what do I expect?

I think in the blogging world, it’s so much easier to be competitive. You can easily compare yourself to anyone and everyone. For instance, I could compare myself to you right now. You are running completely different terrain, different elements and in a different phase of your training…(Considering I’m in no phase LOL). My point is there are so many variables all the time. Great post Janae and chat soon!

I use to be so competitive with everything, I mean hell, I probably was competing with the air haha. Now I’m just all about doing better than my last time, or going further than I did last time, and that only happens maybe every other week. I’m all about just enjoying it now :). I have a love relationship with Ikea, but that may change come December when I start getting things for before I move out haha.

I don’t even know what 3% humidity feels like. At 5am I am sweating the minute I step out my door to begin my run! (The Florida heat/humidity combo can really be killer!)

I find the older I get the less I desire to compete with others and the more I compete with my younger self! :) Its more fun that way.

I’m not a competitive person at all. I like to do things in teams, working together, but not against each other.
Ps.
I had this dream that I met you and Brooke last night!! I was s0 sad when it I realized it was just a dream. :(

I’m with you on the humidity – I can’t STAND it! We’ve recently had some monsoon storms here in AZ, so it’s been unusually humid and I feel like I’m going to die. Haha. And I’m pretty sure it’s nothing compared to what the easteners and southerners deal with!

I am definitely competitive, but it depends what it is and who it’s with. As I’ve gotten older, I don’t think EVERYTHING has to be a competition for me (like it used to). But I can still be pretty competitive when it comes to board games or certain sports. :)

During my younger years, I was super competitive with other people, no matter what we were doing, but that was because I was super-athletic. Now I just run. I am no good at any sports. I don’t run very fast. Not very far.
I DO compete, however, with myself. I often overwork myself, because I get SO freaking competitive with myself! How crazy is that?!
“Ha, Hannah! I just out-sweated you from yesterday! PLUS went another 5 minutes on the spin bike going super-hard!” Whatever that may be.
I am odd. I know.
Blessings!

The humidity in PA can be pretty bad. But I feel like this year it’s not all that bad! We’ve had an unseasonably cool summer (upper 80s instead of above 100 degree days). But a running coworker just moved here from CA and he thinks the humidity right now is absolutely atrocious. I think we just get used to it.

I’m competitive with myself mostly. Now I do enjoy passing someone in a race but at the same time I’m not fast so I know I’m not really doing anything. I live in south Louisiana. I ran at 5 am this morning & the humidity was 90%. It’s hard but that’s why I go at 5 am before the sun comes up. It also makes running in cool weather that much more awesome!

Ikea – great deals but it’s SO exhausting! And Brooke is looking more and more like Curly every day!!

Don’t worry Brooke – I would be over the 21 day challenge too. In fact, I am pretty sure in the 21 days of no sugar that you have been doing, I have been eating enough for the both of us. And considering how much we both usually eat…that is a lot. But I have taken it like a champ. I mean, someone brought me delicious peanut butter cookies last night. How could I not eat one for each of us?? ;)

I am mostly competitive with myself. I would rather set a PR because where I ‘place’ totally depends on who came out and ran that day, how big the race was and all those factors. I could get the exact same ‘time’ at another race and do well/not well. But I will admit that when I run a race I usually try and ‘pick’ people off. Not necessarily because I want to beat them, but because it motivates/pushes me and gets my mind off what I am doing/gives me a goal.

Ikea is in the middle for me. I love that it is cheap and my kids love the day care, but still – it’s like they designed that place to confuse the heck out of everyone. And that cinnamon roll smell they blast at you when you check out is just cruel. How in the world did you resist that?!

I’m not as competitive with others, but I will say that I tend to only run with people I am faster than…. I am super competitive with myself, which is why I never run with a watch or Garmin because it’s bad for my mental health. I am not competitive on the treadmill because I can only go so fast before I am afraid I’m going to trip (and by fast, I mean slow).

It is SUPER humid where I live, in Maryland. Today is a less-humid day and it is 64% humidity. On a regular summer day it’s more like 80%. It doesn’t bother me too much though. You get acclimated as the summer goes on and the humidity increases. Then fall races feel AWESOME because you’ve trained in such miserable conditions and come October there is no humidity or heat and you feel like you could run a million miles.

I’ve only been to Ikea once – it was too big and too crowded and IKEA furniture that I have to put together myself falls apart after a few months.

i can’t ever see what pace the person next to me is running.

And yes, plenty of humidity here in Boston, that’s why i’ve been best buds on the treadmill.

oh my gosh I miss Ikea so much! I used to live 30 mins from one and would seriously go just to wander and get the froyo… now I’m like 3+ hours away :( WAHHHHHH! Seeing your full cart makes me jealous :)

L. Tom Perry said it best:

“You are not competing with anyone else. You are only competing with yourself to do the best with whatever you have received.”

I love that quote because it describes my (desired) attitude completely. I used to be ridiculously competitive all around, but I learned that no matter how many people I “beat” unless I was satisfied with my performance it didn’t feel like winning. Only when I realized that my competition was with my own self did I learn how to “win” regardless of what the outcome on paper or placings is.

I swear that being competitive is hereditary. Growing up my sister, my cousins and I used to get into it over board games and video games! Everything is a competition. Also, I raced someone on the treadmill the other day. He just didn’t know we were racing. I don’t view it as a bad thing though because it pushes me to be the best me! I’m one of those lucky ones that get to run in ridiculous humidity. Like 80%. I couldn’t run at elevation like you do though!

I am definitely competitive with the person on the treadmill next to me, especially if it is someone I know ha (like my super fit sis). But more than anything, I am definitely competitive for myself. I have never shopped at Ikea, but I have heard of and seen so many amazing things from Ikea :) I need to go and check it out!

I probably would be competitive with other people if I was fast enough to actually be a threat! But no. No, I am definitely not. I am just competitive with myself, and am usually trying just to beat my PBs.

I LOVE IKEA and just a couple of days ago figured out a reason why my husband and I *really* need to go, so YAY IKEA TRIP! I can’t remember the reason at the moment, but maybe it will come back to me as we test out the couches and explore the As-Is section!!

I am so done with this humidity! The most annoying part(s) are when my ponytail sticks to my sweaty back lol, and when sweat drips in my eyes. Ouch! Your posts always make me hungry…like now I really want pizza.

I’m pretty competitive with myself and tend to get a little competitive in a race with others too- I think that’s what spurs me on to get my PRs!! I see someone up ahead and I’m like… “OH! Gotta pass this person!” and keep doing that until I cross the finish line.

I am one of the LUCKIEST runners to be able to run in the ridiculous heat and humidity of South Texas… San Antonio. Yesterday it was a “cool” 97 degrees outside. It’s usually pretty humid here too so within the first 1/2 mile I’m drenched. I try to run in the early morning for my long runs but by 8:00 am it’s already well into the 80s and I’m a weenie with the heat.

However, once I ran in the altitude and dry air of the Rockies and I damaged my lungs over 9.5 miles breathing in and processing that dry air before I was fully adjusted…. then it left me open to sickness on the plane and I came down with a horrendous cough deep in my chest for 2 months… I don’t know what I’d rather have! At least there was more to look at than dead deer on the side of the road and sand piles…

Did you run after the giant rainstorm? I did and it was a humidity filled bug fest.

I’m mostly competitive with myself only, which is good because I’m quite slow, but I do love passing people in races….

I am pretty competitive and when I am not being competitive, I am being comparative. The latter is something I am really trying to let go of. The best example of being comparative working against me is taking up running and convincing my boyfriend to run as well. I started couch to 5k training May 4th, I have worked my way up to being halfway through the 10k training and I am running the B.A.A. Half Marathon in October. My bf wanted to be supportive so he signed up as well. But, HE IS SO MUCH BETTER AT RUNNING THAN I AM. I have to WORK it to be running under 10 minute miles right now and the man cruises at like 8. He tells me all the time not to compare because we are built different and, historically, men are faster than women. But, I tell ya, it’s hard not to be like DUDE WTF?!

So much more competitive with myself than with others. While running, I know I am not super speedy so don’t have any illusions there but if you are next to me in spin class-I’m working harder than you are! LOL! Yes we have tons of humidity here in DC and I am loving running in it!

More competitive with myself. I’m not super fast so I’m not a front of the pack so I figure it doesn’t matter as long as I’m doing my best. However, sometimes a little competitiveness sneaks in and I’ll haul ass to pass some people in the home stretch.
I LOVE Ikea….they suck you in. I could spend hours in that store and come out with stuff I never knew I needed!!
Humidity is a killer, I’m in SC and morning runs pretty much consist of 80-97% humidity most days. I’m slowly adjusting but some days I really have to be happy to have simply put in the miles rather than the speed.

Such a great topic janae! Similar to you, I race hard, but training runs with my girlfriends I don’t feel competitive. I do find that some of my friends try to compare themselves during concersation a and I don’t love it..

Your 3% humidity is cracking me up! It was 97% here in SC this morning at 6am! But, I know I wouldn’t be able to deal with the Utah freezing winters, so I’ll take the humidity :)

I have the same love/hate with Ikea! My daughter is about Brooke’s age, and she is obsessed with crawling all over the display furniture, so it is always hard to go there. Then you find something you love and they’re out of it! Or you get the wrong thing! Or the line is so long you give up! But even so, our house is filled with ikea furniture. ;)

I’m not the least bit competitive. ;) just kidding. I have a hard time keeping my slow runs slow when someone else is running fast. I don’t know why I need to prove myself every day.

Brooke is a doll!

I’m from Pennsylvania, running in the summer is like death! So humid. So hot. I need to suck it up and run, but usually I just slack off a lot, and then get excited when running turns enjoyable again in October :) a silver lining to summer being over, better running weather!

I love Brooke. I am not in love with Ikea.

I agree with Brooke, she needs froyo.

I get competitive in short races where I actually have a chance to place… longer ones, the 1/2s and fulls I just run my own race. :)

I am super competitive and when I lose I can be a bit pouty! However with running I am only competitive with myself. I shoot for PR’s not place overall, although I like to see I am in the top 25% of runners in a race, or whatever it is.

I live in the South………..great state of Tennessee………….humidity is just part of daily life. Some days are better than others, but some days you step outside and can’t breathe bc the air is so thick and humid and you sweat while just standing still! I still run though. I am usually a bit slower on those humid days, and 5 miles feels like 15, but it is such a sense of accomplishment to know I ran in the crazy conditions rather than give in to the lazy part of me that wants to sit in the AC on the couch and watch NCIS, Psych, and Friends all day.

I have never been to IKEA…………not sure how I feel about it! Congrats on your apartment though!!