Bad Run?- Just Get Over It
Recently I had a bad run..the Auckland Marathon..I hated every bit of it, the hills, the cold, the arctic 12km headwind at the 22km mark and I could go on and on. I was unhappy with my time (slowest marathon I'd ever run) and at the end I never wanted to run again..sounds dramatic doesn't it?..Not really. Probably every runner feels this way several times in their running life, maybe they don't verbalise it but it probably chews them up inside, here are a few tips that might help

1. Beat yourself up...but only for a short time. That's right..tell yourself how hopeless you are, give yourself a good tongue lashing, let yourself know what a disgraceful effort you put in and then as soon as you slip off your running shoes, STOP having a go at yourself and give yourself a pat on the back for having a go.

2. Over the next 24 hours ask yourself seriously and sensibly what went wrong. Was it the training..yeah I should of done some more, but I couldn't fit it in, so there wasn't anything I could do about that. Was it the course..you bet, it was the toughest course I've ever run a marathon on...and the times of the runners indicated that it was a slow course. Was it the weather..yes it is pretty hard to run fast when a severe head wind is pushing you back, was it your mental attitude..yes I didn't go in with the same positive attitude I had with my other races..I don't know why.

3. Be realistic..was it really such a bad race? You are racing no one but yourself, so this time yourself won, next time your other self may beat you..see what I mean, take the good runs with the bad, remember the highs, don't dwell on the lows. In my case I ran my third marathon..I ran it in another country..I ran with some great team mates..I ran it under four hours..I enjoyed the whole trip (except for the race). Take as many positives away as you can, there will be another race but, you can never replace that day. Remember you have nothing to lose in these events..except if you are stupid like me and bet on yourself!!

4. Reset your race goals..and remember always have more than one. In my case one goal was to beat my last marathon time..didn't happen... one was to run a marathon whilst I'm training runners to provide some inspiration for them..did happen, at least three are planning to enter a marathon next year....one was to run under 4 hours (or I told myself I wouldn't run another one if I didn't)..did happen..see two out of three goals aint bad

5. Have a break...if you are still feeling jaded try something new..in running that is. If it's the distance stuff you are over, try some shorter, faster running, or try cross country or adventure racing. Start swimming, buy a bike and train for the Noosa Tri next year. These are still good ways of competing and maintaining fitness without worrying about the half marathons and marathons for a bit.

6. Don't let it scare you..sometimes a bad race can make you fearful of attempting to enter another event, or stresses you out severely at your next race. You know that each time you go out and run there are days when you go like the wind and there are days when like me, you chug along like a water buffalo, races are the same. Don't let your last race make you fearful of all races..they are all different..course..weather..crowds..your mental attitude..no two runs are the same.


7. The most important tip though is never let a bad run stop you from running. You can run..you have trained yourself to run..you have worked hard..you have entered an event with hundreds of other runners just like you and you will enter others...never give up!