Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Sometimes the Road Will Get Rough

Today was a tough running day. I started later than I wanted to, all because I felt that my bed was much more comfortable place than hitting the road. I usually try and get a five minute warm up (a brisk walk) before I start my run.  I had gone a mile before I even noticed that I was still walking! So off I go. Two miles, three miles and I was out of gas. I pop an energy gel in and keep on running (struggling) waiting for that gel to do it's magic. It did not quite happen. I did more walking that I did running.
It was a long, slow run.
This was the slowest I have been in months. I felt discouraged and deflated. Just this past weekend, I run a 10k in one hour and five minutes. It was very tough to silence the negativity that was going on in my head. There was no amount of self talk that could get me going. The only reason I kept going was because I needed to get home!
On the road, I tried to figure out why I was dragging today. I had a healthy breakfast (a smoothie and a coffee), I had water, a Shotblock and I had a couple of days rest. The only reason that I could figure out was that I stayed up too late last night watching past season of "Breaking Bad".
I have to honor my goals and my body. I have to learn to set priorities so that I could meet my goals.
To honor my body, I need to give it the rest and nutrition it needs in order for it to run properly. I need to be able see that what I do in the present time greatly affects the results I am going to get in the future.
I know that this training is going to get me the success I need for my first half marathon. I also know there will be bumps along the way and just like any runner, I have to be able to get beyond those bumps and just move on. No one ever said this was going to be easy, right?

What do you usually do to when you are unmotivated and struggle during a run?

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