Satisfaction in the Bad Run

There is nothing better than a good run. There are days when the trail just floats under your feet. The weather is perfect and you witness some natural miracle. The miles add up and you feel great when it over. Those are the days you live for.

Then there is the bad run. The midweek runs can become boring. You are getting your work in. You may not feel very fresh and there are days that you would rather sit it out. Those aren't the days I'm talking about. The bad run is a run when you are planning on putting in some good miles and things start falling apart early and often.

I had one of those today. I was planning on running 10-13 miles today. Fortunately I hadn't planned for more this weekend. The first 2 miles felt alright. I got into mile 3 and I started feeling heavy legs, slight numbness in my left hamstring, strange thirst and my stomach was disagreeable. I looked for an excuse to quit. Was I risking injury by "pushing it" today? I started to tell myself that this was a sandwhich weekend between 2 long runs. I didn't have to do it. I realized this was weakness. I pushed on. Things did get better. My stomach behaved itself and the numbness went away. My legs did feel heavy and I wasn't fresh but I finished 11 miles in a respectable time.

I felt satisfied. On some levels these runs are more satistfying than the great run. I could have quit. I would have regretted quiting all day and probably the following week. I finished the run and was able to go about my day with no regrets. These are the runs that I feel you have to get through to be a runner.

I don't look forward to the next one. The next one may be longer. The next one may be harder. Hopefully I push through again.