« What Was I Thinking? | Main | Finally...Back to Normal »
October 19, 2004
Another "Ugh Day" Down the Drain
As I wrote last week, I really struggle with Tuesdays. They are much harder for me than Mondays. Today was definitely and "ugh day". It has been cool, damp, and dreary with off and on rain all day. Not exactly the kind of weather that makes me jump up and down because I want to go outside and run in it.
Yesterday I said that I knew I had to take it easy today after racing Sunday and attempting some kind of track work last night. I had this pipe dream that I'd be able to run an easy nine miles today. After all, Tuesday is my mid-week longer run day and I am a creature of habit, I don't like changing my days around. My legs balked at the idea of doing 9 miles this afternoon. In fact, they hardly wanted to run. Well, I should rephrase that, my stomach did not want me to be running. In addition to having stomach issues today, my ankle was feeling stiffer than usual. It's been feeling better in the mornings (not as stiff when I crawl out of bed) but has been feeling worse when I've been running for the past few days.
There were periods during my run where I felt decent, never good, but tolerable. Then there were the other periods (when I would have to stop) because I felt so bad. About a mile from home, I had to sit down on the street to take off my left shoe and massage my ankle. Of course as soon as I did that the rain started up again. The last part of my run involves crossing a somewhat larger road. Just my luck it was rush hour and I could not get accross the road for several minutes while I stood there in the rain.
I went to the gym and rode the stationary bike for 40 minutes and then did a light lifting session. If I feel better tomorrow, which I certainly hope that I do, I can always do my longer run then. I think that I need to stretch more than I have been. The foam roller has been helping me, but I still feel tight.
I know that right now I need to have a more positive outlook. For the past few weeks I've been very discouraged. Some workouts have been going really well, yet my race results have not really indicated the kind of shape that I'm in. I keep running races on days with not the greatest conditions. Some of my workouts are significantly better than my races have been. I know that I race my best when I'm surrounded by other people, which most definitely has not been the case in the past few races. I also know that I'm heavier than I was this time last year when I was racing really well. I just can not seem to lose those few pounds I gained. You know it's really bad when people tell you that you look good with a "little bit of meat on your bones". I really try not to obsess over these things, but that is really the only thing that I can tell is making a difference this year. My mantra for tomorrow is to think positive thoughts.
Posted by Blondie at October 19, 2004 07:41 PM