Workouts Don't Always Go as Planned

Today was supposed to be 8 miles of tempo and an extra couple for warm up and cool down.  For whatever reason, my body said, "Uh-uh, that ain't happening today."  I tried convincing her to keep trying, but she wasn't having any of it.  I tried sneaking a couple of race-pace miles in there, but she wasn't interested.  I even drank my whole energy drink and still nothing.

I ran this one on the treadmill this morning, because the roads were really slushy and wet outside and I was really hoping for a good run.  I was trying to hold my marathon goal pace.

This is what happened instead:

According to Hansons Marathon Method, "Over time, it is the tempo run that will dictate whether or not you have selected the right marathon goal."   This run would have given me some ongoing confidence that I've picked an achievable goal for my marathon in May.  Although I'm a bit disappointed the run didn't turn out as planned, I take some solace in the fact that they can't all be good ones.   I've had some pretty solid runs in the past few months so I'm not completely discouraged.  I have another eight weeks until the moment of truth, and the Around the Bay on March 24 should give me an indication of how much more work I need to put into this or whether I need to re-evaluate.

This just highlights that I need to pay closer attention to what fuel I'm taking in the day before these tempo runs.  They are my rest day and yesterday I was a bit more lax with my food intake.  Rookie mistake and I should know better.

So, I've shaken this off (and, yes, taken the advice I am always so ready to give my fellow athletes) and will live to fight another day.

My body won this battle today, but she won't win the war.