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How Do You Get Over a Bad Run? Embrace It.

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get over bad runs

The rain flying sideways was soft, but constant, never allowing me to let go, enjoy the miles and my big marathon goal. That lead to my legs chiming in with their own thoughts on how hard this run was feeling, which lead to my right shoulder feeling a little wonky and then was that a blister forming on my pinkie toe? Bad runs. Sigh.

Probably time to call it quits.

Or not.

Here’s why sometimes you need to dig in and double down on the really bad runs.

Benefits of Having Bad Runs

It sounds ridiculous, but I’ve actually come to really love those craptastic runs.

I’m not a masochist.

And fine maybe I’m taking my word of the year a little too far to say I LOVE bad runs, but really they don’t bum me out the way they used to when I first started running. Now I kind of embrace them because I’ve learned that a bad run is a great teacher.

Unfortunately our bad runs often comes towards the end of a training cycle {particularly for the marathon} which immediately sends us in to a spiral of fear and doubt about the pending race.

Instead I offer this…they are a valuable part of training.

Assuming your run hasn’t devolved into a sharp cry of anguish with every step due to a true injury, it’s time to dig in your forefoot and push onward.(read this for signs of injury vs mental pain)

Let’s talk about why bad runs so fantastic and more importantly why SEEING them as fantastic can help you get past it quicker.

bad runs

Pay Attention to Your Body

Bad runs are sometimes our bodies way of telling us that we’ve been breaking the rules of too much, too fast or too long. With great runs we pat ourselves on the back and go along our merry little way for the day, but a bad run often surprises us and causes us to take notice of what’s been going on.

  • Are we trying to cram too much in to our day?
  • Are we stressed out from training, life?
  • Do we need another recovery day or was our speed work just harder than normal yesterday?
  • Are you fueling enough to maintain steady energy?
  • Are you taking rest days or trying to skip them?

Listen up, your body is telling you something.

Remember Bad Runs Don’t Last

If every run were bad, I wouldn’t have been at this since 2002.

Simply knowing that everything ebbs and flows…yup it’s another reminder of the old saying “this too shall pass”, which lets be honest is pretty much a great lesson for us to take in to every area of our life.

Running has absolutely helped me to deal with life better because you never know what any run will bring. You have to decide you’re going to roll with it and GROW from it.

The mental side of running is possibly my favorite topic.

Sure, sure I love gossiping about changing shoe models, which running form is really best and all things IT Band…but the mental stuff, well that’s what keeps us coming back.

It’s why they call us crazy and yet we know they’re the crazy ones for missing out on all the lessons of running.

Learning to Dig Deep

In those awful moments you really learn what you are made of and most of the time it will surprise the heck out of you. I certainly never imagined that I would find ways to convince myself to complete an 18 mile run on a treadmill with no tv, but I did because my goal mattered.

Parts of it sucked horribly, but afterwards I had a whole new sense of pride and again another tool for reminding myself in life that I can probably handle more than I believe.

“If you never have a ‘bad’ day, you’re probably doing something wrong; if you never have a ‘good’ day, you’re definitely doing something wrong.” -Mark Remy

And you’ve heard it before but bad runs, they do show you just how deep you can dig, so that on race day when your legs are burning and your lungs are screaming but you can see that finish line, you find yourself still pushing.

Master of the Mind Game

During a bad run, you have two options: quit or distract.

Sometimes we quit and that’s fine too, but on the days where you decide to keep going you’ll begin the fine art of playing mind games. These games aren’t just about zoning out, they are a chance for you to refocus your mind away from that random new chafing sensation in your heel…and voila a few miles later you can’t even remember which foot it was on.

The random aches, pains, can’t breathe, stomach knots are bound to happen on race day. Having worked through them in training, you’ll know if you can just keep moving “this too shall pass”.

Checkout the mind games of 6 marathon runners that might help you.Long runs don't require tons of gels -find out what to do instead

Truly Embracing Taper Before Race Day

It’s insanely common for the last big run of a marathon training cycle to suck the big one. It takes every ounce of energy you have to cover the 20 miles, collapsing in a sweaty heap on the couch later you’re convinced 26.2 is beyond your reach (especially at goal pace).

Good news, this is in many ways exactly where you’re supposed to be heading in to taper!!! Doesn’t just knowing that already make you feel better?!

Often runners dread taper because we love to run and we hate time off or fear that reducing mileage is going to hurt us on race day. If you taper the right way that’s simply not true, but more importantly if you have peaked correctly you will be feeling every muscle and ready to EMBRACE a two week taper.

Remember on race day you won’t be putting in 20 miles on legs that have been doing tons of miles and speed work, they will have the benefit of that recovery time to leave you refreshed.

Why your bad runs might be the sign of a great race to come #runchat Click To Tweet

Shutting Down the Negative Talk While Running

You’re out for a run and then you hear it – that voice.

You turn up your music, but it’s still there.

The voice that tells you that you can’t run one more step, that you’ll never shave time off your mile, that there is no way you’ll be able to run 13.1 miles, that you’ll never be faster than you were last year or than the person that just passed you.

That voice.

It sounds familiar because it is familiar. It’s your voice – more specifically your ego or fear-based voice. It’s the voice that judges, attacks, limits, and compares. It’s the voice that has the power to literally stop you in your tracks.Shut Down Negative Self TalkIt’s time to learn how to shut it down:

1. Acknowledge it. Trying to stuff it down just makes it scream louder.

2. Talk it out. You’ve got nothing but miles, so start thinking where the heck is this coming from? I’ve done long runs before, so am I allowing what others have said to me in the past to creep in and cause doubt. That sneaky little subconscious never lets us forget, but if we an find it and shine a light on the fear it suddenly isn’t so scary.

“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.”
– Madeline L’Engle

3. Flip it around. Don’t feed the fear. Turn it on it’s head.
Fear: I’m not in good enough shape to be a runner. I’ll hurt myself and not even finish.

Flip it: I am stronger with every step. I am a runner.

Learning to Let Go of Results

This last one might be the most important.

There will be races that don’t go as planned.

Your magic Lulu’s suddenly become a static magnet and your thighs are screaming with raw chafing by mile 10, which inevitably slows you down. Your always perfect pre-race meal is sloshing around and simultaneously sitting lick a brick, leaving you unable to push on to your PR dreams.

After months of training, it’s heartbreaking to have a race go off the rails.

But it happens and the faster you can find ways to mentally make peace with it, the sooner you’ll have the confidence to try again. It’s not just about your body recovering, you have to mentally KNOW you can, which isn’t easy when your confidence has been shaken.

So how do you let it go:

  • Recognize it was one run and put it in context of your overall training
  • Review why it potentially when wrong and use it to improve
  • Remember why you started running and it probably wasn’t about a PR
  • One run doesn’t define you, neither does a string of bad runs

What do you do when a bad run strikes?

Do you push through? Stop? Ruminate on it for days?

Other ways to connect with Amanda
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Posted by amanda Categories: mental marathon training, running coach

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susie @ Suzlyfe says

    September 12, 2017 at 5:43 am

    You have to build that mental strength. And unfortunately, that might mean some less that fun outings. But at least you will know how to deal when that situation comes up during the race!

  2. Emily says

    September 12, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    When a bad run strikes, I often push through; but it can be so hard to push through the negative talk of ‘I have SO many more miles left.’ How am I going to do this? I’m thankful that you are so balanced on knowing that it’s okay to quit but also knowing that sometimes we need to push through too.

  3. [email protected] the Long Way Home says

    September 12, 2017 at 6:39 pm

    I rarely succumb to a bad run. That’s why my DNF of a few weeks ago sits so badly with me. I’m moving on. I’ll never let that happen again.

  4. Marcia says

    September 13, 2017 at 5:02 am

    Um yeah, bad runs happen. Like mine yesterday. I remind myself I’ve done tougher things and keep going. Sometimes you have to embrace the suck.

  5. Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says

    September 13, 2017 at 6:11 am

    Turning off those negative thoughts are not easy! Thanks for the tips

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Amanda Brooks : Run Coach
A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might alr A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might already know what’s best for you, but aren’t doing it consistently. That’s the only way we really make changes.
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A PLAN can help, but I often don’t think that’s step one to making lasting change.
//
HABITS AND ROUTINES✴️
-Eliminate the need to make decisions.
-Which reduces brain fatigue.
-Which increases your chance of success.
//
TINY HABITS✴️
This is the smallest step you can take towards your goal. Often so small it seems insignificant, but is easy to make it a habit.
🌟
That leads you to another tiny habit, then another and suddenly it’s just your lifestyle.
👆👆👆
When people ask how I easily kept off 35lbs for over 15 years, while enjoying pizza, taking rest days and not obsessing about food.
👇👇👇👇
When people ask how I stay motivated to run year round and rarely race. Tiny habits.
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Day one isn’t eat perfect or run for an hour.
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Day one IS drink a glass of water when I wake up. Put on my running clothes.
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Day 30 is then more like after I drink my glass of water, I do 5 push ups. After I put on my running clothes, I do a 5 minute warm up.
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SLOW PROGRESS IS BETTER THAN NO PROGRESS, it builds momentum and is sustainable.
❔❔❔
Have you ever practiced creating tiny habits???
1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR? M 1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR?
Mine... satisfying.
😊
1900 miles blows away previous years.
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(swipe to see...because yes I love tracking.) Unfortunately I’m not positive what it was 2001-2007 because I wrote it on calendars.
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SATISFYING
🥰I needed the long miles early on to process my business being thrown for a loop. Bye bye book tour and partnerships.
😊I needed it after that to get away from the news and pretend I wasn’t spending all day alone. Then as my business shifted again to keep ideas flowing.
🌲I loved the time outside to think, get lost in a comedy podcast or audiobook. Otherwise I’m at home working!
🤩Without a single race, I still checked a big goal off my list of running an ultra distance (solo was very interesting!).
//
I’ve seen some posts that make it seem like we’re wrong for talking about what we achieved this year.
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It was a HARD FCKIN year for everyone, but guess what lots of years are. And not every year is great even without a pandemic.
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For all the lows this year, I also worked my ass off to make some really good things happen. And I’m extra proud of that.
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So let’s hear your word for fitness in 2020??
⬇️
Hard, easy, strong, powerful, consistent, cleansing, relaxing, nature, grace, grit, grind, triumph, building...
HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot r HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot right?! Figuring out what to do with it, color it don’t color it, keep it healthy, breakage from ponytails, long, short. And yet a good hair day😃 🔥 🌟
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POLL:
🥰Love your hair
🤪Frustrated with your hair
1️⃣Natural curls
2️⃣Stick straight
👇👇👇
Curly friends: share your favorite tips!!
Long hair friends: what helps you keep it healthy?
👆👆👆
//
At 7 I could sit in my hair it was so long.
At 10 we started perms.
At 16 I had a full mane of hair I loved.
At 20 I learned I have naturally curly hair 😂after years of perms as a kid.
At 25 I was going blonde blonde blonde.
At 29 I began losing hair and it got so brittle I had to chop it off, due to the hormone issues.😭
At 35 my hair started to recover (as did my body), but never like that mane I loved as a teen.
At 39 I got my first curly haircut! I’m still figuring it out, but was amazed at how it looked.
//
I don’t wear much make up, but I do admit to really caring about my hair and it was a tough time when it felt so unhealthy.
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I’m still struggling to figure out this new curly style 😂but keep hearing from other curly girls ya just gotta stick it out. So we’ll see.
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#curlygirlmethod #hairtalk
ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just enjoy a day off? Don’t you feel guilty about the time apart?
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Yes.
It makes me happy.
No, if I’m happy our time together is better.
👇👇👇
MY VIEW IS THIS...
❌If you aren’t working out because of food guilt
❌If you aren’t missing big moments because you must workout
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✅THEN GO FORTH and don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for improving your mental and physical health.
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❓Do you have guilt or get guilted about workouts for n holidays?❓
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This has been my lifestyle so long that our families just know to expect that I’m gonna sweat. And of course, I’m lucky David wants this lifestyle too.
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BUTTTTT I remember those first trips to David’s family, where it really threw them for a loop. They still find it weird, but I sneak out before everyone gets up or have gotten them to do family things like the rec center.
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My best advice when asked has always been to try and calmly explain why it matters to you and then just go. They get over it or used to it.
🎁 🎄🕎
TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder this holiday season that we all need to be loved differently...and pizza transcends all.
//
🍕Do you have a favorite local pizza place?🍕🍕
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Yes, I knead to know for when we can travel again.
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Here we fell in love in love with @saucyspizza and I wouldn’t be sad if I got it as a gift 😆
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#pizzamemes #eatlocal #denvercolorado #ilovepizza #lovememes #pizzagram #digiorno #papajohns #foodisfuel #longrun #womenwhoeat #carbsarelife
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