…a truly great one is bound to follow.
Let me explain.
Whether it’s rational or not, sometimes I get fixated on covering a certain distance. Last weekend, my plan called for 12 miles, but deep down, I wanted to do 14. Hey, I thought, I want a PR at Wineglass, a big one. So why not step it up a notch?
Sensing my greed, the marathon training gods cursed me with a (literally) crappy run, the kind of crappy that required a mad dash to the nearest Dunkin’ for an unplanned pit stop. Oh yeah, and it was humid as I’ll get out, too.
Feeling blehhhh…
…I made my way home early logging — you guessed it — just 12 slower-than-molasses miles, the wind effectively knocked out of my sails.
Damn.
But yesterday, with 16 on the menu, things were different.
Once I warmed up, I almost felt giddy, the kind of giddy that puts a spring in your step so you drop your pace a bit just for the heck of it. The kind that feels so good you can’t help but smile a little from the inside out. The kind that almost convinced me to like summer.
Yes, it was one of those runs that can only be described with a high level of cliche and corniness. The air was cool, the sun made the trees a vibrant green and the creek sparkle. I even ran into a herd of deer and past still-snoozing ducks.
And I ran all 16 miles quite a bit faster than the 12 I did the Sunday before.
Hells. Yes.
I told my mom today, after she’d had a less-than-pleasant workout, that the reason I choose to endure the crappy runs is because they make the amazing ones, the ones where you feel weightless and powerful and free, THAT much sweeter.
I know this is by far a groundbreaking realization, but…
Daily reminder: Check.
QUOTE OF THE POST: “Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running.” – Sarah Condor
megrunnergirl 
Love this post and it is so true. With the intense heat here in the south these days, it feels like I’ve been having more crappy runs than good ones. I just keep trying to tell myself that they are making me stronger for a fall marathon in cool temps. Keep up the great training! xo
You are so right! This happened to me last training cycle.I had the most crappy 17 miler where I walked a good majority of the last three 5 miles and my pace hovered around the 9:15 mark. The next day I ran met up with Larisa Dannis (34th woman at boston and second woman at Western States100) and felt soooo intimidated. But I was due for that floating feeling run and I ran 11 miles at 7:40 pace with 900 ft of elevation gain. I was shocked and so pleased. The crappy runs bring out the good runs…there’s got to be a science behind it!
Definitely a good reminder! Bad runs or weeks….typically are followed by better runs and better weeks. I have been in a rut the last few so I’m hoping this week (which is already going better than last) is that upswing! Nice work on the runs and getting them in…the good and the bad!