The bad run

[Nigel]

What are the causes of a bad run ? I'm sure there are many.

In general, I'd expect these to result from overtraining or poor rest. But I'm not sure it follows, since I've had a couple of bad runs following days off and early nights recently. In each case, I felt fine during the morning, but was sluggish, dead-legged and repeatedly tempted to walk when I ran at lunchtime.

Conversely, sometimes I can run surprisingly well on jet lag or when I have very disrupted sleep. I can feel ragged and near the edge but run fast.

Can being TOO well rested result in a lack of adrenaline ?

What are your experiences of bad runs and the factors behind them ?

[El Gordo]

Hi Nigel,

For me, as I've mentioned a few times, there is a tendency for the pleasure from runs to be inversely proportional to the expectation. I know that sounds glib, and a bit too clever, but it's so often proved to be the case.

A couple of Fridays ago when I was working from home, I spent the morning looking forward to my lunchtime run. It was a fantastic autumn day. Cool but bright and sunny. It had rained through the night so the air was clean and fresh. I went out full of joy, but... but it just didn't follow the script. Despite being well-rested, after a couple of miles I just ground to a halt. Literally. I had to stop and walk even though I wasn't going fast. I picked up again, but it wasn't the run I'd hoped for. The opposite happens all the time. Pretty much every morning in fact. This morning was a good example. The thought of getting out of bed and running was dreadful. But I dragged myself out there and sure enough, felt fantastic afterwards.

Why does this happen? I'm at a total loss to explain it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. You learn to minimise the dangers, but it still happens. Most of us, when we started, made the usual mistakes of running straight after eating. We learn the importance of sleeping reasonably well and not over/under-dressing. But there's something beyond all that that's unpredictable and both frustrating but fascinating.

Any theories anyone?

[Seafront Plodder]

Originally posted by andy
.........Any theories anyone?

Yes.

If you drive to the pub and therefore can't drink, you feel like you could empty the Thames. Yet if you walk there, aiming to have a few, you are bloated after one.


All to do with archimedes apparently.....

[Debbie]

Unfortunately I can't provide the answers as to why this happens. I can, however, only agree and continue to be baffled by why this should be.

I've had a couple of exceptionally good runs based on a very late night the day before, far too much alcohol consumed, not enough sleep, a Burger King lunch and hardly any water throughout the day.

On the flip side, I've been well-rested, well-hydrated, fresh as a daisy and really looking forward to my run, only to crash and burn after only a couple of miles on a route I can normally run with ease.

I still don't have the "What not to eat before a run" thing sussed. Yesterday afternoon I set out on my long Sunday run, having had a bowl of Country Crisp and a slice of toast and marmalade for breakfast (nothing unusual there) and two slices of cheese on toast for lunch. And a Country Slice courtesy of Mr. Kipling. Plenty of water. About 4.5 miles into the run I felt that familiar sensation in my bowels and knew that a pit stop was urgently required. Why is it that when you get 'that urge' normally, you can hold off for a time until you can find a toilet. When you're running, that time delay is non-existent. If you don't find a toilet within the next 30 seconds or so the chances of soiled underwear are extremely high. Yesterday I was lucky: I altered my route slightly to go past a local pub. Fortunately they had a back entrance so I was able to avoid the embarrassment of walking through a crowded pub in full running gear, hot and sweaty and desperate for the loo!

I set off again and about 2/3 of the way through the run I started getting the most excruciating stomach cramps and knew that I would need a second visit to the toilet. This time I was bang in the middle of a residential area with not a pub within feasible range. I had to slow to a walk to try to control the urge. Then I had a flash of inspiration - the church hall I used to go to when I was in Venture Scouts! By some miracle the hall was being used yesterday afternoon and I managed to sneak in round the back and use the loo. Disaster averted for the second time.

This has never happened to me before. Occasionally I have to go once, never twice. And never the stomach cramps. I won't be having cheese on toast as a pre-run lunch again!!