Lessons From A Bad Run

Sorry this is so long, I hope you don't get bored.

Today was my "long" run... long for me is 2.5-3 miles, and I planned on doing 3.1 just so I could get an unofficial 5k time.

So I set the alarm for 6am. When it went off I heard it down pouring outside. I pushed snooze a time or two and when I woke the last time it sounded like it had stopped raining, but instead of getting up I turned the alarm off and went to sleep.

When I finally woke I was mad at myself for not running early in the morning. Even though it was wet out it was still a nice day to run and I should have done it first thing in the morning.

Lesson 1...
I always regret when I do not run as planned... I need to just do it, because even though it is hard to get up some mornings it is worth it. That hassle is temporary, the regret for the rest of the day sucks worse than having to get myself going.

I finally did get moving and went out for my run. As I said I planned on doing 3.1 miles but somewhere around a mile and a half my leg was hurting like hell. The pain was pretty intense and I decided to quit after 2 miles. On top of that my sock kept sliding below my shoe and my heel started burning. I reached down to fix it and saw a bit of blood. (I can actually say I ran until I bled.. lol) I took quite a few walk breaks and finished the 2 miles with a pace of 12:37. I was a little surprised to see this pace because it was only a couple seconds slower than my last long run a few weeks ago.

Lesson 2...
I am improving. Even with a bum leg and needing walk breaks my pace was as planned and could have potentially been better. Keep myself healthy and I will be better and better at running.

Finally, I am walking home after the run and a little ways ahead of me I see something moving at the edge of the road. It is a deer standing in the tall grass eating away. Cars are passing back and forth and he just stays there eating away.

I watched him for a little bit and tried to see the drivers reactions as they past. Most of them did not even notice the deer, despite being in plain view.

Lesson 3...
No matter how much you are hurting, or how fast you are going, you should always be aware. You never know when God will give you the opportunity to admire His beautiful creation. Sometimes seeing things like this also makes me realize that life is precious, and truly a gift from God.