Tomorrow's Run

Today's workout consisted of the Worst. Run. Ever.

Let's set the scene.  Here in the Greater Detroit Area, we were at record high temps of close to 85 degrees.  It was sunny, clear and all in all, an absolutely beautiful day.

I picked up the kids after school, and they were pumped to get home and ride bikes, play ball and jump in the mini trampoline in the backyard.  Their blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight and wisps of blond hair flittered in the warm afternoon breeze.

I changed into my new Nike running shorts (from Shop It To Me), tied up my shiny new kicks, strapped on my brand spanking new arm band for the IPod, and set out for an EASY 4 mile jaunt.

EEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR....(sound of screeching halt)

Here's where the train wreck of a run starts.  The  first mile was torturous, and for the first time in a long time, I seriously contemplated turning back...even after the - give yourself at least 10 minutes and you'll get into the groove - yeah, didn't happen.  There was NO groove today.

I kept asking myself what was actually wrong, you know, so I could try and think about something else.  But, I couldn't pinpoint the root of my problem.  I just felt bad and wanted to stop!

Then, I started to completely psych myself out.  I have to run 13.1 miles on Sunday, and what if I feel like this then?  What if I want to stop the whole time I'm running the actual race I've been training months for?

At around 3 miles, I stopped to walk.  3 miles, and I was done for.  "Are you kidding me?" I asked myself.  "You are way tougher than this!"  "How are you letting an easy 4 mile run get so under your skin today?"

I mustered up the motivation to run the last bit just under a mile, but I had to totally talk myself into it.

I have no answer for what the heck happened today.  No explanation for why my second to last run of my entire training for this half marathon was so completely crappy.

It could have been the heat that I'm not used to.  It could have been the half a bag of Starburst Jelly Beans I ate today.  It could have been my new shoes, my pony tail was too tight, my shorts were riding a wee bit, my socks were bunching up at the heel...it could have been, it must have been, it should have gone a different way.

Whichever the reason for the bad-ness (and not the MJ kind of Bad), I should never have let it get under my skin so badly.  Lesson learned.

Running just gets in your head.  You can let it totally push you to the limits and go with it, in a good, positive way....OR you can let it totally push you to the limits and it will make you loose your mind!

Sheesh!  I was on it's bad side today...but that just makes me want to get after it that much more!  Running is so cool!

We went for a drive after dinner today, and we went down to the shore of Lake Erie.  There's this little island that I never knew existed...that's going to be my run tomorrow!

When running or working out gets the best of you, do you find it more motivating for the next go around?