Rivals and Accountability

One of my favorite writers, Chuck Klosterman, wrote a phenomenal social-observation essay on the importance of having a 'Nemesis' and an 'Archenemy' in your life. The former is a person you begrudgingly and surreptitiously like, but outwardly hate. You're Archenemy is someone you compete with and revile to your core. In a footrace, you'd want to finish first, you'd like your Nemisis to finish somewhere in the top 10%, and you pray to your God that your Archenemy gets trampled at the start. I agree with everything Klosterman said, but want to add one more role; a person in your life that fits somewhere between you're least favorite brother and your Nemsis; the person you'd want to finish 2nd: you're rival training partner.

This is a guy who is at about your same level of ability, has about the same goals, and about the same intensity as you. In fact, you're remarkable similarity and parity creates the reason why you want so badly to best this person in anything that could possibly be perceived as a competition. 

One of the beauties of running is it enables perfect comparability. Results are black and white: you either finish ahead of someone or behind them. There aren't any ties either. There are close finishes, but really no ties. This clarity of results creates a dimension in which you and your rival can finally and definitively distinguish yourselves. The two of you may be comparable in every other respect, but you can always earn the pride and esteem that comes from victory by beating your rival. 

In addition to being someone similar to you in most ways, your rival also has to be someone you at least kind-of respect. This is because it has to mean something to you personally to beat them. It also means you should probably have de-facto respect for yourself since the rival is your near doppelgänger. 

The social dynamic that is the lynchpin of rivalry-driven results is accountability. Your rival probably knows what you are up to: how long your long-run is or how fast your tempo runs are. Because of this, you better know yourself what your rival is up to. If your rival ran 17 miles for their long run, they will earn a minor victory unless you run the same distance & effort. Falling short will only be a tiny admission that this was an instance in which your rival was able to rise to the occasion, but you weren't. This is a constant check for every workout to make sure you are always giving your best effort, as your pride and competitive vigor shouldn't accept these small defeats easily. If you do you can be sure your rival will surpass you eventually, and earn a smug grin the next time you meet and compare training progress. These outcomes will foreshadow your long term triumphs or failures.