Before I'm 31

So Saturday was a nice 60 minute run. As per usual, I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but I wasn't dreading it either. It was just there. And it turned out to be a good run. Nice pace, tired a few times during the run, but I pushed through it. So I was jacked to see that the training schedule called for only a 40 minute run on Monday. FORTY MINUTES!!! That's it?? With the mileage and minutes that I have been getting in lately, 4o measly minutes should be a breeze. I was even kind of excited about it.

Can you tell where this is going? Yeah, I thought so. So yesterday turned out to be a spectacularly BAD run. I have experienced the full spectrum of quality of workouts over the last 10 months, and I've really only had one other one that was a poor as this.

Maybe I started out too fast. That is what I am REALLY hoping. I tried my "don't stop unless you can't breathe or something hurts" rule, and that wasn't really working. I kept on running and trying to pinpoint just what was so making it so rough. My legs were tired, but not any more that I had experienced before. I had been drinking water all day, so I don't think I was dehydrated. I did have some fat sausage fingers by the end of the run. I had convinced myself that that was indicative of some sort of impending brain explosion.

No brain explosion, and I finally crapped out after 30 minutes (and at least five minutes of that was walking). I am still disappointed in myself about yesterday's run - I guess I was mad that I didn't even shoot to walk 10 more minutes to at least round out to a complete 40 minute workout. I didn't suck it up and push through it. FOR A 40 MINUTE RUN.

So is this the whole mental part of training for a marathon that they talk about?