I had every intention of getting 6 miles in Saturday. I stretched, hydrated and felt good (aside from the headcold) and the weather was beautiful. I got my start a tad later than I hoped for (11 instead of 10), but it was not insanely hot.
I started out on the train and felt pretty good. My legs are still feeling a bit leadish, but I was moving. I enjoyed some good tunes (I am obsessed with Ke$ha right now), the beautiful weather and friendly cyclists on the trail. Then I hit mile two and I hit a wall. I just felt like I was running in place. I stopped to walk for a few minutes and then Helga the Garmin, my cruel trainer, quit on me!! It was like she said, "Ok, you want to give up? I am giving up on you!" I fortunately knew my distance and my turning points, but decided to turn my 6 miles into something closer to 5.5 miles. I figured having not run over 3.5 miles since the beginning of June, 6 miles was probably a tad ambitious.
In the end, its probably a good thing that Helga quit on me. Instead of getting fixated on time/pace for the run, I was able to just run and get back into a higher distance. Its a bit disappointing that I slacked so much this summer, but I am trying to not to fixate on that and instead look forward.
It was a bit weird though. The path was busy, as usual, which is one of the reasons I pick it to run, but I never saw a single runner the whole time. There were plenty of cyclists, and a couple people rollerblading, but no runners. Where have they all gone?
In case you guys did not hear, Katye rocked the RNR Chicago Half Marathon this weekend. Make sure you head over and give her some love because she killed her PR by 10 minutes. Thats right---10 MINUTES. 600 Seconds. Super fast!!!
Sunday was a rest day for me, but tonight, 4 miles is planned. Fingers crossed its a better experience!
How do you try to avoid being discouraged in your training? What do you do when you have an off day???
Happy running everyone!
5 comments:
Erin, you just chalk it up to a bad running day, and look forward to the next time you run. The most important thing to remember is that you're out there, you're making an effort, and your body will quickly remember what you've been training it to do. Good luck!
good work running. and you're totally right, some days it's more about getting out there and getting the run done without obsessing over time and pace. especially if you're not "training" specifically. just have fun running!
I try to forget about the off day as soon as it happens. I focus on all of the good runs I have had and try to plan better to have a good run the next time around (since my bad runs are usually due to poor planning/eating/etc).
great job getting out there
thank youuuuuu! and seriously...some runs just dont happen. you just hope it doesnt occur on race day haha but T always tells me "you really just need the time on your feet". aka if you're body really isnt feeling the run, just cover the miles as best you can!
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