So you’ve been running for a few months and everything seems to be going smoothly. Your mileage is increasing and your speed is increasing. You’ve even lost some weight. Then one day you hit the track and it just doesn’t feel right. For some reason, all of your strength seems to be gone. If this hasn’t happened to you yet, it will. Hard runs are just a part of being a runner.
I write this because I had a particularly grueling run last night. Over the weekend I hit a new mileage record (8.2 miles). Then on Sunday I played two and a half hours of ultimate frisbee (basically sprinting the whole time). So then yesterday I figured that since I’m progressing so well, why not go for a new 5K PR? I hit the track going at a much faster pace than I usually would for such a distance and by the time I reached the turn around point, I was nearly spent. Frustrated, humiliated, and tired, I walked much of the way back – not even coming close to a new PR. Needless to say, it was not a fun drive home.
What caused it? Probably a combination of a much too ambitious pace, not giving myself enough rest between runs, and not having enough fuel (both carbs and water). But sometimes bad runs just happen. The important thing to remember is that you have to pick it up and keep going next time. I wouldn’t recommend pushing yourself overly hard to the point of injury, but after you shake it off and get some rest, be determined to come back and go for it again another day. If you can find a way to work through the bad runs and focus on the rewarding ones you’ll know that you have what it takes to be a long term runner.
Some ways to get back on the running horse after a bad run:
– Go running with others.
– Bring along some music
– Take a different route for a change of scenery
– Do some cross-training
– Change distances
– Read fitness/running blogs/articles to get yourself motivated.
