Cause you had a Bad Day…
by rchackman
You know those days when you go for a run and just feel like it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? Your legs hurt, your lungs are on fire and you are already going too slow to slow down anymore. Me too. The weird thing is you were cruising yesterday and felt great. In fact, the last few weeks of workouts have been strong but for some reason running that day was horrendous….
Does that sound familiar?
I have now had a few of those days this season. Maybe a handful at most. Since I started keeping my, accurately named, “recovery journal“, I have been able to pinpoint the reasons behind those awful runs. One or two were directly due to fatigue because I did not get enough quality sleep. The other had everything to do with dehydration. Both were equally terrible.
I was able to pinpoint the problem because I keep track of my food, water and sleep. Three key aspects of recovery between workouts. What I am ultimately getting at is that BAD DAYS are completely preventable if you properly fuel, hydrate and get enough sleep. So, keep that in mind when you are up late at night watching TV. Keep it in mind to drink a little water for every hour you are awake. Most importantly, keep that in mind when you are deciding what to eat.
Over time I’ve come to appreciate the bad days (I know that sounds messed up). But it’s important to appreciate those cruddy days knowing that tomorrow will feel much better. Not every workout can be a good one but also, not every workout can be a bad one. Sometimes you body is just tired or your mind is just distracted. But that’s OK. Because you’ve gotta get thru the bad days to get to the good ones.
This was me last week, and it was all because of a lack of sleep. Thanks for the reminder.
It happened three weeks before my triathlon–I tried to train through it and got injured. Listen to your body 🙂
That is so very true. I have noticed that a lot lately. When I teach swimming lessons and workout I have to sleep longer because the sun drains you. great post!!
I know what you mean with bad runs when you’re sleep deprived, with the tour de france on it’s hard getting enough sleep and my runs suffer, but a few times not only have I been lacking sleep but didn’t eat the right foods to recover and I remember having to stop and walk, horrible! It’s so good being able to pin point the problem why we have bad days. Happy running! Auds 🙂