Monday, May 2, 2011

The Mental Game

Today I had a crappy day. I struggled to find a single positive moment in my entire work day. And lo and behold that same crappy feeling carried over into my run too.  The weather all day has been dreary with light drizzles.  It settled down some before the run but I still went to the run wearing an older pair of shoes.  I have this strange belief that once shoes get super wet from running in the rain they lose their bounce.  I know it isn't true but it just feels that way to me.

Anyway, I wore the shoes that have been bothering me for the last month. I was smart and packed my new shoes and I changed into them after one mile and my toes starting to fall asleep in the others.  The shoes immediately made a difference but my legs still didn't want to play.  I plodded along as best as I could and thanked my running partner for keeping me going. I told her I would be happy to get in just 3 miles but she kept me going to 5 miles. 

The workout tonight called for a one mile time trial. Well, I can't say that I put in a time trial effort but I did complete the workout even if my paces were off! The actual workout was pretty short: 2 x 200 at a fast pace to get the legs ready. 60 seconds rest after each. 1 mile time trial (due to the cooler, wet weather we had ideal conditions for running a fast mile...unfortunately my head and heart weren't into it today.) The workout concluded with 2x800 at 5K pace with 30 seconds rest. 

It's not often that we get such a short workout so I'm bummed that I didn't have my mental game together today. I couldn't put aside the issues with my feet and legs and the rough workday to focus on the workout.  Tomorrow's another day and I'm going to make it a better one! I'm going to have an easy run and then maybe try out a hot yoga class. 

1 comment:

  1. The mental game is so important. But don't ever forget you are a TRUE trooper. To get out there an run 5 miles when you don't have your mental game -- that definately takes strength coming from somewhere (and since it wasn't mental, it must have been physical)

    Happy Running!

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