I've been reading a lot of reports of "bad days in running". I have been puzzled about these "bad days" for a while now, mostly because I could not relate. Surely, there have been plenty days when I ran poorly but there was always a concrete reason for that: a cold, stomach issues, or weather. I have never had one of those "I have no idea what is going on but I am running poorly" type of days.
Fast forward to Friday's swim. On the tap, 24 continuous laps of free style, as part of a 1.25 mile swim. As soon as I started the warm up, I started doubting myself about being able to do the swim. My stroke was off, and I felt like I was sinking. I tried to relax, but my brain kept sending negative messages. I tried to get it together before the main set and remind myself that I had swum 20 continuous laps the previous week, and that all I needed was to give this a try, but it did not work. The other part of me started to come up with excuses, such as staying up to late the night before, stress at work, etc. I started the set and I had to stop after 5 laps. I was out of breath. I was mad at myself. I tried again, same thing. I did the 1.25 miles but gave up on the main set. In the car, i was mad at my husband bc he was distracted and unable to listen to how bad of a swimming day the POOR ME HAD! Then I thought about it, and realized that the "bad day" was really my own doing. My mind was not in the swim that day. I was not patient enough to enable my body and mind to relax. So I tried again this morning, and I did it. Everything went smoothly. It was one of my best swims. I even learned a thing or two about my stroke and how to glide better.
So there you have it. I think that outside external circumstances (weather, illness, etc), we create the "bad day" by how we react to the race or workout. Do we get mad that we started to fast, doubt that we can keep up and then turn everything into a self fulfilling prophecy? Do we look for excuses? Do we worry and the anxiety translates into increased heart rate and inaccurate perception of effort? Do we set too high or too low standards? Do we over analyze? DO we fail to focus? Whatever it is, I think that the "bad day" is more in the mind than in the body. And that's a good thing, because things that are in the mind can often be fixed easier than those that are in the body. So here's to few or no bad days my blogging friends !
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13 comments:
Interesting post. I agree that bad days are often something going on in the head, but I think sometimes I have a bad day if I've been training a lot and I'm tired too. Sort of a mind and body combined deal. Thankfully I don't have many bad days either!
I like this post. I know for a fact that if I'm outside of training and just wanting to go for a run and I'm not 100% committed to even walking out the door to start- the whole run is doomed. If I really don't feel like running, I feel maybe my body is sending my brain a love note to take the day off. If I do force myself out the door, I have a horrible run and don't enjoy one ounce of it. If you're not in it mentally, there's no way you'll be in the run physically. Complete waste of time in my eyes. After all, we run because we enjoy it, right?
You are so right; totally in the mind, which can be a very powerful thing!
When I have days like that, I tend to get over it rather quickly and take it as a sign to slow down some, get more sleep and eat more quality food. Thankfully I have more good days than bad days, but those bad days are usually telilng me something so I listen.
Great job on your swimming. I can't even imagine! :0
I Think that you are totally right about it being a mind thing. I do have a bad running day every now and then. I have more good running days than bad but those crappy runs do have a way with messing with us! Hopefully the off funk that was in place will leave and your old rock star self will come back:) I hope that you have a great week!
If you don't like something, change your mind. Everything is a reflection of our viewpoint, right?! Bad days are usually full of self judgement instead of self acceptance. I'd accept your stats! You are kicking ass.
You definitely can't let them get you down. Sometimes workouts are bad. But if you never have a bad one, then you probably aren't pushing yourself enough.
So true that much of the time it's just a frame of mind...
I also agree with Katie, though, that sometimes a run doesn't go well because of accumulated fatigue.
Yes, I agree Katie and Mary, but those are part of the "concrete, clear reasons" for a bad day! You know why you had a bad day in such a situation
Sometimes things are out of our control, and i need to constantly be reminded of that bc othewise i get pretty down on myself. And yes who defines the day as BAD? We do. You cant be on your A game all the time...even pros have bad days and in the big scheme of life hopefully our training isnt going to make or break our days if we have full and balanced lives:)
Good job getting back in there and getting it done. Sometimes our brains are our worst enemies.
For some reason, the swim mental state is the hardest for me by far. It's sooo easy for me to talk myself out of doing the whole set. hmph! don't know what it is w/the dang swimming!;-)
I think a bad day is just any day you decide to call bad! Maybe this was the first time you've felt the need to trot out that phrase (lucky you)! Now, me on the other hand ....
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