Monday was supposed to be 28 miles.
Tuesday was supposed to be 18 miles.
Actual: 19 and 11. UGH.
Monday started at -3 degrees at 6am. I knew my only option was the treadmill to start. My gym closes at 10 so I was able to run on the treadmill for just under 2 hours then came home and ran outside. The air was brutal cold at 5 degrees. I just needed to finish a long slow. I had an appointment at 1:00. I almost never make a plan on a long run day, but I couldn’t avoid it. I told myself I would run until 12:30 and finish the remaining 7 miles after the appointment. After the run I didn’t have enough recovery food and rush to the meeting. Poor planning. I didn’t eat right or hydrate right. The meeting went longer than anticipated and I didn’t have enough in me to finish the remaining miles. I was done for the day.
Monday. I woke up knowing I just needed to do the miles. Just do 18 miles no matter what. I needed to run outside and I knew it was going to warm up so I waited until 11 to start when it would be 20 degrees. I got caught up with work stuff and cleaning and suddenly 11 turned into Noon. I knew the first part of the run would be trails with a goal of 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I had the perfect route in mind. When I hit the trail it was like running in sand because the snow got too soft. I kept going, thinking of the route, and how good it was going to be to run in the snowy woods. The trial got harder and harder. I was fatigued from yesterday, which was the point of this run, but everything was coming unglued. My brain said go home, my legs said get off the trails. I got off the trail and did a hilly road loop back to my house to regroup. On the way, I just wanted to be done. I was miserable. And, I gave into my brain and stopped.
This is all terrible. I want a do-over. I want to be better. I want to do everything I say I’m going to do. Today I want a chance to start over.
Lessons Learned:
- Plan food in advance: food for before, during and after the run.
- Don’t make any plans on back-to-back run days.
- Make a new playlist to stay motivated.
- Regardless of weather, just run outside, damn it.
