You win some, You lose some

This week has been my first proper training week since Paris and it’s been a really mixed bag.

Tuesday was a euphoric return to form with RunDemCrew. We ran four speedy miles down by the river and I felt great - like I could have run forever and ever.

Satisfied I was back to form following Paris I went out for a sunny run at lunchtime on Wednesday. It was bloody awful. My legs felt tired and heavy and I could barely muster up anything faster than a 9 minute mile pace. I gave up less than 2 miles in feeling dejected. What had changed? How could I feel so good and then feel so bad just a day later?

Thursday was track. My first track session and I was wracked with thoughts about how bad I was at running and how my legs were going to fail me. Wrong again. I bashed out some sprint/jog warm ups and then 3 x 1200’s, averaging a 7 minute mile pace.

I know that I’m not alone. Every so often everyone gets hit with a bad run and with the inevitable confidence blow that follows. The point is that it happens to everyone, and you shouldn’t let it affect the way you train or the way you feel about your running. I went to track on Thursday feeling like the worst runner in the world and proceeded to prove myself wrong - what could I have done if I’d have gone to track full of confidence?

Having a bad run is not important. It happens. What is important is making sure that you never give up. Every time you run go out with a clean slate; leave behind thoughts of heavy legs or last week’s disaster and commit yourself to the present because, in reality, it’s what’s going on in your head that really matters.