You can’t compare finish times when you didn’t start at the same line or run the same race.

Comparison only means something when the conditions match, and they almost never do. Whoever seems ahead may have had a decade of coaching, a quieter house, more money or simply more hours. Measuring yourself against their result while ignoring their starting position produces a number that tells you nothing.

Compare yourself with your own last month instead, which is the only fair race on offer. If you want to use somebody ahead of you, ask about their route rather than their time. Notice when a feed hands you finish lines with the starting lines carefully cropped out.