Terrible 10 mile run

Workout Today: 10 mile run at a crappy pace. (Just under 10 minute miles.)

Workout Tomorrow: Not sure...

Thought: “The people and circumstances around me do not make me what I am, they reveal who I am”- Laura Schlessinger


Today I really had one of the crappiest runs of my life. I decided to do my long run early this week because the esposo is going backpacking and I thought I should make sure I got it in before he left. So, not only did I do it two days early, but I decided to go running outside at noon. I don't mind hot weather running, but running 10 miles in the heat, I found, was almost unbearable.

I became really depressed around mile 3-4 when I started to really slow down and couldn't get my mind off the heat. I was hoping for a really awesome run as I taper down for my next half. Next week I run 8 miles on Saturday for my long run, and then the next week is the race.

Anyways, back to my nasty run, the sun was blazing, and I kept playing mind games with myself to keep going. I drank all my water and had to stop to refill my water bottles and drench myself in a water fountain at mile 6. I felt like a new woman for awhile after that, but then it became drudgery again.

One of my favorite things about running is how amazing I usually feel after wards. I didn't feel that today, and I'm still in a bad mood. I've been doing a lot of speed work at a much faster pace than any training I've done for past half marathons. Consequently, I've been hoping that will translate into an awesome PR in my next race. Today totally made me doubt myself and question whether I'm a better runner, or just worn out.

I've been having so many awesome runs, I guess maybe I needed to be brought down to earth and realize that knocking 4 minutes off my half marathon time isn't just going to be handed to me. On a positive note, I wanted to stop running so badly today, and I didn't. I kept on trucking. That's the only positive thing I can think of about this experience. (That, and the course was really beautiful.) Oh, and strawberry shot blocks aren't half bad.