Way off

I ran 3.1 miles today. Well, I actually ran three miles and cooled down for one-tenth of a mile. I should be happy that I ran three miles, that I was able to make decent time especially considering Sunday's 10K.

But I'm not. It was a lousy workout. I'd go so far as saying that it was one of the worst workouts I've had in months.

I've been thinking about it, wondering why things went so bad. From the moment I stepped on the treadmill, it felt bad. I just never was able to get in a groove both physically and mentally. I wasn't even done with my first mile and my heart rate was close to 170. It got as high as 189, and for a three-mile run that's excessively high. That means I was exerting a great deal of energy when I shouldn't have been. Around the 2.5 mile mark I snapped out of it, or so I thought. I started to feel good, feel in a bit of a rhythm but as I approached three miles, I knew I'd only continue to struggle.

So I did the unthinkable. I hit the stop button two miles before my goal.

It's good sometimes to have bad workouts, honestly. It's good because it helps you re-assess your goals, to sort through what works and what doesn't and move on from there. I had a poor workout and it may be for several reasons.

- I was in a rush this morning. From the get-the-daughters-to-school routine that dominates my household every morning to trying to fit in a trip to the grocery store and, oh yeah, voting in the presidential election, I crammed my morning excessively.

- I didn't sleep well. I thought I had gotten enough rest last night but maybe I didn't. I usually wear a CPAP to sleep, well, let me take that back. I am supposed to wear a CPAP but I haven't used it regularly in months. Perhaps this is a wake-up call that I need to get back to that.

- My back hurts. Well, it does actually but I didn't really feel my back until after the run. But maybe I had the thought of not hurting my back deep in my mind somewhere and maybe that's why I struggled.

- Candy! I haven't had a lot of Halloween candy but my overall eating the last few days has been rough. Between taking a bus trip to Utah and the few pieces of candy (and too much Monterey Jack cheese on Monday evening) maybe my diet has been off.

Well, there are several different possible scenarios for why my workout did not work out for me on Tuesday. I'm going to rest on Wednesday and get back at it on Thursday. I'm going to do my best to rest well the night before, to stay on my usual balanced and proper diet and to not stress about household duties. Back to the basics then.

And then in retrospect maybe today's workout won't be so bad.