The one thing that you can be sure about in life is that no day is ever the same. Running makes that fact much more apparent. Yesterday I ran four miles... four, not fourteen. But you would've thought I was ending a marathon by the way I looked and how I felt. My legs felt like lead and my upper body felt like a wet noodle. My heart rate shot through the roof in the first mile, despite my slower pace. This was going to be an easy run, something to just get me moving and out the door so that I wouldn't miss out on a running day. I'm working my way back to running five days a week so any miles is better than none. But the odds were not in my favor.
I always find it interesting that no run is ever the same. At some point I was running six miles four days a week with a long run thrown in for good measure. Even when I made sure to eat right and get rest, six miles on one day could be vastly different from six miles on another day. Running (for me) hasn't gotten easier but I've certainly gotten better at it. The more I run the more I see that even the slightest change in my day can help or hinder my run, kind of like a butterfly effect. Timing, negative or positive thoughts, even how my family is doing can make the difference between rough or easy.
Yesterday I did all the right things for a good run. For lunch I had a small serving of pasta and a fruit and nut bowl. I drank tons of water because the temperature is back up in Florida and summer seems like it's already here (which was probably why my heart rate jumped up). I waited over an hour for my food to digest and brought water with me for the run. I was excited to run so there were no doubts or reservations in my mind. With all the boxes checked I certainly didn't expect to struggle.
After my turn around point at mile two I was already thinking about taking a break. This can't be good I thought. I think I had just passed my three mile mark and decided to take a short walk break. I had a fast walking pace and after I counted to twenty I started running again. Seeing the entrance of my housing subdivision was the best sight and I told myself that all I had to do was get to the corner. The run didn't go as I had planned but once I was done I didn't beat myself up about it. I told myself that I'm allowed some bad days and as long as I got out and did something then that was all that mattered. Just like anything in life, running can have it's good moments and it's bad moments. But how you deal with those moments is really the true test.
Have you ever had a bad run/workout?
How did you get over it?
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