There are no bad runs...

It sounds cliche', but there are no bad runs just opportunities to learn and improve. Last week was tough, no doubt. After resting yesterday and my leg hurting anyway I knew something needed to change. I was starting to lose confidence that doing my first marathon in March would be a success. I rolled out my IT Band on the foam roller as I have been the last week and it really helped a lot, but I still couldn't help but wonder if I was in over my head as I was going to sleep. I don't know what happened overnight while I slept, but I woke up with a whole new attitude. I was ready to take care of this last 5 weeks of training and make the Napa Valley Marathon a success. I've been having some car problems and we are under a Blizzard Warning so I decided to work from home today and hit the treadmill after work. Well, work didn't go so great, lots of issues to be dealt with and frustration, but I kept my mind on the run. My leg was feeling great, no stiffness or pain at all. I was ready for my 6 mile Easy Run. I decided that I would slow my training pace down for this week to help relieve some of the stress on my leg. I normally train at 9:45-10:00 min miles, so I slowed it down to a 10:48 mile. That was a good decision, I think. I finished work and put on the running shoes to hit the old treadmill. It was frustrating slowing down so much, but the run was really good. I had a few moments of stiffness/pain, but they came and went so quickly I never saw a need to stop. After the run I did my normal cool down walk, stretching and another round with my old friend the foam roller. My leg feels great at the moment, no pain, no stiffness. Good to go. I'm so excited about it that I want to go for a run!! I know, I'm addicted and insane. but I've accepted that. I think that bad week led to the mental re-focusing that I needed to get back on track. I've said before, I believe that running is much more of a mental than physical challenge. My confidence being shaken was likely a big source of my problems last week, in my opinion. But this next 5 weeks I'm all in, I'm focused and ready to go. There are no bad runs, those "bad" runs last week reminded me of where my head needs to be.

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