One of Those Days
The day we had left my brother’s place, my brother Cam and I got up early to get in a run together. I don’t often get many opportunities to run with people, especially my brothers…so I thought it’d be fun. I came back looking the above picture…actually, I was already deathly pale beforehand and any people seeing me must’ve thought I was anemic. (side-note: yesterday I tanned…a little. This photo is my main inspiration)
The company for the run was great…the run…not so hot. It was one of the worst runs of my life. I woke up feeling icky and overtired. Not a pleasant start. Pretty much the whole time I ran (it was around 8 miles) I had cramps. In addition, I felt nauseated and the cramps started crawling up my side and spread into my shoulder and neck. So strange. My energy levels amounted to a turtle on sedation meds. Oh joy.
It was just one of those days…and I have to realize that I can’t kick myself too long about those sorts of things. I tend to be a perfectionist and I have very high expectations for myself. So when I fall short of what goals I have for myself, it’s really easy for me to mentally beat myself up about it. But you can’t. It’s stupid. Everyone has a day where everything goes wrong and you have no energy.
My brother basically ran circles around me…he’s such a speed whiz and I’m proud to have such an amazing runner for a brother. He really encourages me to improve my running skills, yet is encouraging for what little skills I might have. Yah, he’s nice. I really like it when you can have bits of conversation with someone when you run…makes things a little more fun.
We found this sign (pardon the i-Pod camera) and then my brother remembered that there was a 5k going on. We ended up running a little bit of the trail against the flow of the race, which was fun. Seeing runners get me excited…I’m always pointing out runners on our band’s road trips and exclaim, “Look! There’s a runner! …Oh, another one!” I get polite nods from my travel companions who secretly think I’m slightly strange.
By the end of the run my foot injury was returning. Ignore setting was activated. Note to self: Find some sort of exercises for my tootsies. ( I’m just thankful it takes a few miles for it to start bothering me.) Oh, and find out what stops running cramps.
So there. One winner of a run, right? Recently I read a post by Skinny Runner who had a post about days where you have a bad run…that post totally cheered me up. This is a crazy girl who runs marathons and loves insane challenges. So I guess even the professional runners all have their days…or maybe like…a day. Me=days.
My brother Cam inspired me too; it doesn’t seem to matter if he has energy or not, he just goes and gets ‘er done. All my brothers are like that.
Once we were back, I had my routine ice bath and guzzled electrolyte water. Then we had an epic breakfast of eggs and toast. Perfect.
Even though it wasn’t the most stellar run, it always makes you feel so good the rest of the day and it certainly inspires me to drink more, get quality sleep, not stay up late, train smarter, and eat better. And then as my brother says, “There are just some runs you have to fight through.”
In this case, fighting is a positive thing.
For you runners, what do you do when you have a bad day? Do you have any good foot exercises for me? How do you combat cramps?
Category: Fitness, Running | Tags: bad day for running, bad run, feet exercises, running motivation, tips for getting through hard runs, what do do when you don't feel like running, workout cramps 6 comments »
I find that some days the runs come easily and some days every step is agony, and I really don’t know why. But according to my husband, the most important thing is that you are still running. Hope your injury heals soon!
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I actually had a really bad run today. I guess it was cos I had a good long run yesterday, and that I didnt sleep tonight because of my work.
Today, I think I would just be better off if I hadnt run at all. But I dont like to ship workouts..
I find yoga is helpful for my running!
My brother runs like a professional sprinter, I would never dare run with him. You are brave to run with yours! :)
Try some stretching for the cramps, it works for me! I always finish with stretching and never have cramps. For the calves place half your leg on a stair and push the heel down, then do the same with the next leg. You should feel the calf muscle stretching. It takes only a minute!
my dad always told me that when i got cramps from running to raise both of my arms all the way into the air. it works! the cramps are gone before i know it! God is good!!!!! hope this helps. God bless you.
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Kelly~ Keep running…yes! Just that phrase inspires me.
Ragnhild~ I don’t like skipping workouts either…glad to know I’m not alone. ;)
Nadia~ I dunno know about brave, haha. Thanks for the tips! Will try.
Jenny~ Interesting. I will be doing this…thanks for the trick!