on bad runs
let’s talk about bad runs.
there are some days i do not want to run, but i do anyway. maybe i didn’t get enough sleep, maybe i ate not too long ago and feel blarg, maybe i haven’t eaten enough, maybe my bra is newly washed and i just put it on and it feels like it’s constricting my breathing, or maybe my muscles just don’t want to work today. i get out there, plug in my earbuds, turn on the music, and take off, but i’m just not feeling it. some days i get in a groove right away, others it takes me a mile to finally get going, and some days i just can’t get it at all. i cruise into my driveway after a run and want to fall over because it was that bad. on days like that, my time drops about a minute or more per mile.
when i signed up for a 10k, i wanted it to be awesome, so i did everything right beforehand. i had eaten some m&ms at noon,had a sandwich at 2:30, took a little nap, drank a loooot of caffeine, put on my bra 2 hours pre-race. i didn’t run the day before, but stretched a ton before the race, and my adrenaline was pumping. it was probably 60-65 degrees out and a little humid, so it wouldn’t be too warm, but not cool either. we took off.
the run was great for the first 4 miles – i was really kicking my time in the butt. then came the hills.
i don’t know who decided it would be an awesome thing to put 2 large hills and an incline at the end of a 10k. obviously they had never run a race. one hill i could deal with, but after the second i was so worn out, it probably would have made more sense for me to walk. i wanted to run the entire thing, so i kept plugging away.
what really amazed me was the final incline. usually at the end of a race, you want to give yourself one last burst of running energy to get over the finish line, but when it’s on an incline, that just doesn’t happen. my muscles were so worn out, i don’t know if i couldn’ve done it even if it were even.
i came in last at that 10k, and it really annoyed me, even though everyone was really nice about it. sure, i knew i could do it, but as i ran in to the end, everyone was cheering me on and giving high fives, so much so that it was almost patronizing because i was last. yeah yeah i know i’m coming in faster than those who aren’t running it at all, but still, it would’ve been nice to at least come in somewhat close to the others.
what was really amazing was my time: 12:57/mile. which meant i was really booking it up until the last 2 miles. it was the fastest 6 miles i’ve run yet.
this morning i woke up and my legs were screaming at me, my stomach and back muscles were sore (from uphill crouching maybe?) and i had rashes on my back from my bra, even though i’ve never had that happen before.
i won’t be running that one again unless they change the course. meanwhile, i’ll keep plugging away at my bad runs, even though they really do suck. but a bad run is better than no run.