One bad run...

The power of one bad run is truly stunning. It has the ability to shake months of confidence and training, and to set you back at "can I do this???" so quickly. My four miler on Wednesday went from bad to worse to terrible. Started off with heavy legs and uncomfortable breathing and then went into the low blood sugar zone at about mile 1.5. I've struggled with blood sugar issues for years now, and generally pay very close attention to when/what I eat. I guess my crazy hectic schedule as of late caught up with me on Wednesday because I couldn't remember exactly when I'd had lunch and just went for my run instead of eating a snack and waiting a while like I normally do. The tunnel vision and lightheadness are complicating factors when you're trying to run... But I decided I was going to push through it, since I needed to get back home anyway. I made it through the run- but not without building up a mountain of doubts on my way, which stayed with me all night and into the next day.

I had company in town which provided a good excuse for postponing my next run. Of course that meant I had 24 hours to mull the impossibility of 26.2 miles when I could barely make it through 4!

The next morning I just put on my running clothes and shoes the minute I got up, to avoid any more excuses, at my one piece of toast and hopped out the door. My run went fine, of course, despite the lingering doubts. And I spent the entire time convincing myself that I will probably always have bad runs every once in a while- I'll just try to be grateful that they are few and far between. I'll also try to focus on drowning out those very loud voices of doubt that infiltrated my confidence this time, but surely won't the next time they come around.