Racing can be stressful. Most people don’t sleep very well before their races, and they get nervous in the days leading up to them. I do too. I think I’m used to a certain level of stress in my life, and seek it out during my leisure time as well. The great thing about races is that, no matter how kinda cruddy you feel before the race, once you get going, and your blood is pumping and your body is moving, it starts feeling good. I also think it’s really fun.
While I think training is OK, I get a great deal of satisfaction seeing improvements in my performance during races. Since I race a lot, sometimes my PRs aren’t that big, but I still enjoy setting them. Any long runs or fast times during training are forgotten after a while, but racing PRs are recorded and offer almost tangible proof of your improvement.
RunningMadeSuperEasy 