It happens to all of us, the horrible run. Maybe more likely to happen because here in Houston we are running in sauna conditions (with more humidity) a good part of the year. It is sadly surprising how much temperature and humidity has an effect on a run.
I am NOT a morning person, everyone knows this. However, I was coerced into a 5K on July 4 at 6AM! Of course by coerced I mean somebody said 'hey I'm doing a 5K, you should come' and even after learning it was at 6 AM rather than PM I agreed.
The great news is Ken and Brendan volunteered to race with me. This was a small neighbrhood gathering at our local YMCA of 15-17 runners. The good news is we all placed in our respective age groups :) The BAD news is I was DFL=Dead Flat (or substitute your own F word) Last! Most of these folks run together on a regular basis but I also run on a regular basis. There is no point to making excuses when it comes to a race it was either good or bad but I will confess the tummy issues definitley slowed me down. Making sure this run didn't include runs took some inner strength for sure.
Fast forward to Wednesday, traditionally my 'long' run day. I started running all over again going shorter distances/less time but running more often. I had a 45 minute run on my plan. Wednesday we were blessed with some much needed rain and that was all I needed to talk myself out of a run. Of course it stopped raining hours before I planned on running. I told myself I would hop on the trainer instead but I'm not sure how dedicated I was to that idea either.
At 8:00 when I was trying to look busy on the computer it occurred to me I didn't have a reason not to run. I am not injured and I've been doing a good job of sticking to my plan so why stop now? I got my running clothes and new Zoot shoes on and headed out. Turns out I had one of my best runs in a very long time. Unfortunately, the shoes were pretty tough on my feet and I am sporting some blisters today but I'd rather have a couple of blisters then regret skipping a workout.
Remember this when you are having a hard time getting out the door: You never regret a run you take, but you may regret one you skipped. ...or something like that. Running at a different time of day can be hard to do, esp when it's a race.
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