A Bad Run...What's That?

I feel like my past 7 runs have been good...or even great...runs! That's amazing to me! Usually I have 1 or 2 or 3 'good' runs, and then a 'bad' run. Well, I've been on an incredible streak! So, it was bound to happen. Today... I had... a bad run.

So, what is a bad run? When I finished running & went to pick my daughter up from swim practice, I told another mom (a triathlete) that I'd had a 'bad run.' She said, "Any run is a good run! It's better than being on the couch!"

True...but I do feel some runs are 'good' and others are 'bad.' I'll still take the bad ones, though! Though sometimes they make me want to quit running! (Can you imagine?)

So, what was wrong today? I did eat horribly yesterday. I had several sweets & then we have Cheetos & Chips Ahoy in the house right now. Those are bad news for me! So, maybe that was part of the problem. Also, I have been really running HARD the past 2.5 weeks and making some incredible gains. So, maybe I was just tired! (I did have to stop and stretch my calves twice...they were tight!)

A bad run, to me, is when I can't do what I set out to do. When I go on a run, I have certain goals. It might be a distance. It might be a certain time. Or, it might be a combination.

Today's run was 10 intervals of a 2 minute run followed by a 1 minute walk. I've done this run 3 or 4 times in the past month or so, and I've always had energy left to run another FAST 1/2 mile...that is FAST for me. So, that was the plan!

Well, my 2 minute runs have been getting down close to a 10 minute/mile pace. So, for 2 minutes I'm running at close to 10 mins/mile... and I do that 10 times.

I started out great, though it was really a hard run... so I was probably going too fast! My first 2 mins was at a 9:40 pace...I think that's my fastest! But, they went down hill from there. The next two were in the low 10's. And, they got slower & slower. I had 5 of them in the 13-14 min/mile range! Ugh! That's not where I planned to be at all! And, when I was done with my 10 intervals, I had nothing left to give...I just walked the couple of blocks to swim practice.

So, that's a bad run. I have this grand idea of what I'm going to accomplish, and my body just cannot...will not... do it!

At least I have a bunch of 'good' runs fresh in my mind so I'm not thinking about giving up this time! And, I know the next good run could happen any time.

Tomorrow is my day off, and Saturday is supposed to be my long run. But, I might switch and do a 15 mile (or so) bike ride on Sunday & then do my long run on Monday. We are supposed to be at the lake house, hopefully through Monday, so I'll have HILLS to run & ride on!!!

I'm also hoping to start taking at least one spin class per week next week. I haven't taken a spin class in 7-8 years! But, I really want to do some long rides this fall and next spring. So, I'd love to start spinning...even though the classes start at 5:30 & 5:45!!! Yikes!