Last sunday I had a really terrific run. It was a clear autumn morning, the sun just rising, nature was so beautiful... On tuesday, I did the last run of my start-to-run programm, and all went so easy. And then came today... I think it was the most difficult run I ever ran. Conditionally, there wasn't any problem, my pulse was steady, I could breath easily, but it were my legs. It wasn't until the last few minutes that my legs started to feel as if they wanted to run. They were so goddamn heavy all the time. It just seemed as if it was completely the wrong day... And maybe it was... I had planned this run for yesterday evening, but in the afternoon my sister called to ask if I was home at night: she needed an injection at exactly 8:30 PM, and the nurse who should come over couldn't guarantee she would be there in time. But as I am a doctor, she asked me if I could 'rescue' her... I must admit, it felt rather strange: as I am a child-psychiatrist, I'm not used to give injections any more, and then doing it to your tiny little sister.... (She's 10 years younger than I am, and 1 feet taller... but I still feel as if she is the little one.) So I ran today instead of yesterday, and it was definitely bad, bad, bad... Never mind, from tomorrow on, I have 7 days of from work, have to go back working one day next friday, and then I have another (long) week of vacation till november 11th. Saturday my next run, and I'm sure it will be a better one than today's.

Bad runs are definitely no-fun. Pay attention to what seems to trigger bad runs for you - stress, lack of sleep, etc. Maybe it'll help you avoid a bad one in the future. Good luck!

Bad runs help you recognize and really appreciate the great runs. Try not to dwell on this one too much.