Some days, it’s tough to get out the door. Those days are no fun.
There are other days that are completely different. Days when the sun is shining, and you want nothing more than to get outside and take a great run. The kind of day that would produce the kind of run that makes you feel strong. Powerful. Invincible.
Sometimes, those days live up to their expectations. As runners, we need those days to keep us motivated. Those are the perfect runs we always hope our next one will be.
But some days fall far, far below expectations. What do we do when we get out there, only to find that it totally sucks?
It can be discouraging, especially when those around us are able to capitalize on perfect conditions as we sluggishly pound the pavement with seemingly no hope of achieving anything that resembles a goal. Whether the cause be related to fatigue, nutrition, or those pesky female genetics which periodically make it hard to do much of ANYTHING, let alone exercise – some runs just don’t go our way.
I really try to see the value in even the worst of runs. Slow Miles > No Miles, right? And I tell myself over and over again – if I could complete this run, on a day when I’m exhausted/sore/hungrythirstynauseous – imagine what I can do tomorrow when I feel better. And who knows what race day might be like. I might wake up in this very condition, facing these very challenges. But because I faced these challenges today – ran in these miserable conditions – I’m bound to feel a little less miserable the next time I’m faced with them.
This morning, I reviewed the Garmin stats from Saturday’s long run. Only two miles under 9:00 pace (and just barely.) Two miles over 10:00 pace. Part of me wants to hang up any shred of hope for a BQ. Part of me wants to get out there immediately and try for a do-over.
But the part I’m listening to…that part says, chill out, Armstrong. Now the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad run is out of the way. And it wasn’t even that terrible. Look at yesterday’s recap post! I enjoyed it!
See the value in every run. If it weren’t for the gross ones, what would be so special about that rare perfect run?
Still A Runner 