"Sometimes you need those bad days, to help appreciate the good ones."
Unknown.
I have recently finished a great podcast by Lisa Tamati about Bad Run Days, and I felt many of her comments were also relevant to Bad days and Good days. So let me explain.
I have just come off a big run/walk week of 180 km and I felt brilliant. I planned on having another big week this week, which would be my last one before my 100k Canyon Endurance race at the end of April. Monday and Tuesday both went well. Wednesday, my speed day, was great. I ran a tempo, finishing off my run with an 800m Yasso. I had worked hard but I felt awesome.
However, Thursday hit me like a steam train. I struggled to get out of bed and I felt like my body was not with me most of the day. My legs were tired and I nearly fell asleep sitting in a chair. I had a nap for an hour and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light. I felt like everything I tried to accomplish was difficult and needed so much extra effort. I had planned to do a long run, but even found the dog walk hard.
This was a Bad day for me.
However, on a positive note, I did complete a short, focused gym session, which was one achievement for the day.
So today is another day and my body feels great again. I have energy. I woke up and coached a running client early and by 8:30am I had been so productive.
So what is the lesson here?
These Bad days can help us learn more about ourselves and how we can use these Bad days and turn them into a positive experience.
Benefits of those Bad days.
The Bad days are good training. They help you appreciate the good days, when everything goes well and you are feeling full of energy.
Aim to achieve at least one thing in this Bad day of yours.
Do not be too hard on yourself, give yourself a break, listen to your body because it is telling you something. Maybe you need more rest and recovery time?
Take it slightly easy and think long term goals.
Make sure your Bad days do not roll into too many Bad days. If so, check out you are not overtraining. Look at your nutrition and how much you are sleeping a night.
Think of the Bad days as endurance training. There could be times during a race where things are not going as well as you would hope. Learning to manage yourself on the Bad days will only help you in tough race situations.
Happy Running!
