I just ran 10 miles. I gotta say, it wasn’t a particularly good run. I went into it thinking, “Oh, only 10 miles No sweat.” I was promptly put in my place. I could tell almost immediately that I didn’t fuel well enough beforehand. My legs felt heavy, I was tired, I couldn’t keep the pace I was supposed to. It was just crum-crum-crummy all around.
I could let this get me down. (“Woe is me! I’m a horrible runner!”) I could take it as an indictment of my running abilities. (“I’ll never be able to PR if I can’t even run 10 miles at that pace!”) But I’m not going to do that. My recent runs have all been pretty kick ass, so I can recognize that I was probably due for a bad one. Plus, I’ve identified what went wrong, and I can correct it before my next run. Knowing those things helps. The other thing that helps is to look for the positive. So here are 5 positive things about today’s run:
1. The weather was nearly ideal.
Look at all that green! It was all snow-covered white just the other day!
It was 40-something degrees! Do you know how much I’ve missed temperatures that start with a 4? All that snow we had lingering? Poof! Gone! The warmer temperatures and rain melted it away. Sure, my yard is a total swamp, but my running path is completely clear. If the sun had made an appearance, I would say it was perfect. It’s still pretty gray out there, but with warm temperatures like these, I really can’t complain.
2. I got Geronimo out of the house. There has been more artillery noise than usual as of late, and he has taken up residence in the basement. (I think he feels safer down there.) Getting him to go outside to just go to the bathroom has been a battle. He needed some exercise. It was tough to get him out the door, but it was worth it.
3. I dressed like a crazy person.
Bright colors = happy me. I wore my favorite shorts, my favorite shoes, my favorite pull-over. It even got so warm by the end of the run that I was able to take the pull-over off. Oh, how I’ve missed running in tank tops.
4. I saw a beautiful bird. It had a huge wing span and it just glided through the air like a boat on wave-less water. (A little simile action for ya.) It looked so peaceful. I love the wildlife here.
5. I am able to run.
It wasn’t the run that I was hoping for, but how can I be upset when I’m capable of running for almost 2 hours straight? Every day that I am able to put one foot in front of the other is a day that I should be thankful. And I am.
Tell me something positive going on with you right now!*
Your running outfit makes me smile. I always tell myself that one day, when I’m a serious work-out person that I can have cute workout gear. Sometimes I wonder if getting the cute gear would make me smile more when it’s time to head to the gym to lift weights.
My positive for the day: I get to do something I love every day in teaching. I am no longer in a job that makes me cry daily. I get to work with a different set of kids every day teaching them to play the piano and it is so much fun.
I love wearing bright clothes when I run! (A coworker once saw me in my crazy clothes and told me that I looked like happiness!) Most of my cold weather stuff is darker, so I haven’t been able to bust out the brights much lately.
I love how passionate you are about your job! I’d totally pay you to give me piano lessons!*
I got to talk to my Daughter today! That is a positive way to start the day if I ever had one.
Two days in a row! Aren’t we lucky!*
Aren’t those your old running shoes? Major points for keeping a positive attitude. Ugh that is soooo harrrrrrd some days.
Today did not start out too well for me so your reminder to CHOOSE a good attitude is perfect timing. So. Something positive that’s going on for me right now… I get to read your blog every day and be inspired by your awesomeness
Also, a family brunch is scheduled for Sunday and I looooove brunch!
Janelle! You get major points for knowing those are my old shoes! So observant! I alternate between these and my new pair. I try to plan it so that my new ones are worn on long run days (Friday/Saturday) since I plan to wear them for the race. But this pair is just so bright and happy!
Yeay for blog reading. Double yeay for family brunch! Are you cooking? Is it pot-luck? or out to eat? Favorite brunch food? Mine is French toast but I do like savory (breakfast potatoes or scrambled eggs) on occasion, too.*
Woo! Thanks! Holy crap so what you just said means that 10 miles is a training run this week and you still have a long run to do?!? I would die if you had worn one of each shoe in the photo. hahaha that would make my day.
Yep I’m cookin! Probably mushroom+spinach quiche (sorry, non-shroom-lover!) and baked fruity french toast with cinnamon sugar on top (tastes like french toast heaven; that’s probably my favorite brunch food as well as scrambled eggs). My Mom’s making waffles, my brother’s girlfriend is making baked oatmeal, and thus I think we’ve got the carbs covered! Breakfast potatoes are tempting though… yum!
Baked fruity french toast?! I hope you plan to blog about this brunch so I can look at the pictures and imagine the goodness!*
ha. Hadn’t planned on it but now I will attempt to do so
Better than shipping it moldy to Germany, right?!
Since the teleporter is still a work in progress, a blog post is our best option.*
hahaha couldn’t agree more. amen sista friend!
Good job spinning around the creeping in negativity! I think I always struggle with those 7-12 mile runs in marathon training because my brain thinks “easy peasy” and then as soon as I start running and it’s hard (because it is still a lot of miles!!), I mentally give up. I don’t have a positive today but I am going to be on the look out….
Yes! 7-12, they sound like they’d be easy when you’ve worked your way up to higher mileage, but that doesn’t mean they are easy on your body. Too bad I didn’t realize that until I had already started running!*
Giiiiirl, you ran TEN miles, and it wasn’t a long run, that in itself makes you amazing! TEN miles!! High fives for you, no matter how you felt about this run, you got out there and did it. Go you! That first picture is really gorgeous, it reminds me of the Pacific Northwest and makes me a little homesick.
I’m trying SUPER hard to think of something positive, but I’m at work, so I’ll have to come back when it happens
I know! How smug was I to be all, “10 miles! Small potatoes!” And the fact of the matter is, I ran it fast, just not as fast as I was supposed to. Such a silly thing to be upset over, ya know?
And I definitely LOLed at your comment about being at work and not feeling positive. Ha!*
Love your positivity. I’ve been there with the “stepback” runs still kicking my butt. Heck, I’ve had days where even the 3-mile runs feel awful. I have also been in your boat with not fueling enough, by the way – and it is HORRIBLE. I’ve also had those days where I just felt off and couldn’t pinpoint any reason why (I generally believe that one in every 4-5 runs is either notably good or notably bad for whatever reason). But the most important thing is that you knew what caused it – so you can work to avoid being in a similar situation again. That’s why we do these training runs – they are all practices for race day!!! Better to have off days in training than on race day. And 10 miles is NEVER anything to sneeze at!!!
Love the running outfit, too – especially the hot pink compression sleeves!!! YEAH BABY!!!
Ah, the many shades of bad runs. I am glad that at the very least I know why I struggled. I love what you said about this being the reason we do training runs! To get those bad runs out of our system and figure out what works. So true!*
I love your hot pink shin sleeves! Mine are black. Actually, they’re Craig’s…but still…they’re black. I need to give his back to him and get myself some with a little more flair. Neon is all the rage right now; there were about five people in my Body Combat class yesterday who were all wearing that bright yellow (I call it highlighter marker color) clothing. They were all clumped together in one group. It was random, but awesome.
It’s really frustrating when your ‘easy’ run turns into something hard….especially when you set out with the ‘I got this’ feeling. I’m glad you were able to find the positive in the situation and here’s hoping that the next run is AWESOME!
I don’t know that I’ve ever been on trend before in my life. I feel cool. It’s such a strange, unnatural feeling for me! I do have a pair of black compression sleeves as well, but I tend to gravitate toward the hot pink. They are just so happy. and loud.
Oh, and I totally made the banana ice cream yesterday! I added honey, cinnamon, and peanutbutter. Topped it with whipped cream. Please tell me it still counts as healthy!*
That sounds delicious! I’m glad you liked it! It’s FRUIT, therefore it must be healthy….decadent toppings be damned!
Just gotta say your outfit was a winner!! Also ten miles is a feat in itself, no matter the pace!
Haha! Thanks! I sometimes what my neighbors think when they see the clothes I wear. I’m pretty sure they already think I’m crazy for all the running that I do, so I guess my reputation can’t get any worse than it already is!*
I’ve had plenty of those runs but at least you looked cute in your bright outfit! And the weather was nice, yay!!! I love your #5, at least you can run, amen to that!!!
Solidarity – it’s always nice to know that I’m not alone. Crappy runs are just a fact of life, I guess.*
Go you for the 10 miles!!! Yay to find the positives out of it
I love the bright shirt!! makes me want one. Sometimes I think I like the clothes that are made for running, more than I actually like running.
I fully support your quest for bright colored clothes. (I’m an enabler!) I definitely enjoy myself more when I’m dressed brightly!*
hey, 10 miles is 10 miles. great job and you looked awesome in the bright outfit! xoxo
Thank you!*
I LOVE your socks! I also love this post, I might have to be a copy cat and make a post of my own like this. Always refreshing to focus on the positive.
http://carlkatie.blogspot.com/
You should! I felt better after I really focused on the good things.*
Love point 5 Amy. I try never to forget that.
That’s what I thought about for almost all 10 miles. Our health is a gift too good to waste.*
You know what I found out? If I want to run faster, I have to train faster. Rocket science, right? Well, it was to me at the time. When I looked back at my best (and most favorite) cross country season at St. Francis with Coach Moustache, I realized that he created our workouts based on this very principle. Speed days were hard. I mean HARD. We pushed each other and ourselves to beat that dreaded stopwatch as he shouted out our times for 400, 800 and 1200 meter sprints. Guess what happened? By season’s end I was running my fastest times and moved up to #4 on the team (I started at #7 of 7 girls…not so great).
This post made me smile! It was full of positive stuff — LOVE IT! And love your crazy outfit! Way to rock the 10 miles! Woop woop!!
I just love how you write how crummy, crummy, crummy your run was and then you show your time.. a time which I haven’t approached in years. sigh! My girlfriend, Mary, met your mom at an Austin run. We both appreciate your blog!