Welcome to my newsletter 'Never not [thinking about] running.' A newsletter about running and mental health. In today's newsletter, it’s all about those useless runs you do from time to time.
Actually, I had intended to write about something else here tonight. But before that, I went for a run. November hasn't been particularly kind to me as a runner. An Infection, getting back into running, feeling under the weather, and tonight, I wanted to test if everything was okay. Outside, it was naturally dark, sleeting, temperatures just above freezing.
The perfect run looks different
I started running. The plan was to run easy. 10-12k. Nothing special. Like a recovery run. Everything was muddy. The trails were underwater. The roads were getting slippery. I tried to find some sort of rhythm. Because I constantly had to watch my step, my heart rate increased, I could barely make progress. I wasn't really running fast, but not slow either. The fun was limited. Somehow, I just wanted to head back home.
At kilometer 7, I heard a lone car approaching from behind. I moved to the side of the road, shortly after, I jumped back onto the road and slipped. I bumped my knee and picked myself up. My leg was completely wet, the glove was filled with snow. Didn't matter. I kept going. It didn't get better, but there was no other option. Just before the end, I met my running buddy who was out for a walk. He was sick and unable to run. I accompanied him home. In this moment I immediately felt the pain in my knee. Yeah!
Summing up a run.
Back home, I looked down at myself. The fairly new pants were torn. My knee was bleeding. It had been one of those runs. It felt alright emotionally, being outside, but that was about it. For the body, the run did nothing—neither slow enough, nor fast enough for an effect, just wobbling around in the sleet, running on the road as if on raw eggs. In the end, it was more of a struggle, my knee is hurting, my pants are torn. How annoying. For me, a classic case of 'Crap Miles'—a run that served no purpose.
When does a run not benefit you? Does that happen to you as well?
Housekeeping
I planned 5 runs last week. I did 3 in the end. It started really well with a recovery run on Monday. Added a quality session on the tracks on Wednesday (7x1min/2min) and killed my ankle on Thursday with some strides on an easy run. My ankle depends always on my hip flexor, so it’s no structural problem in my ankle. Just have to do more mobility-work. I am not good at that. On the weekend I felt a bit sick again and because it’s off-season I skipped my planned runs. Could be a better week, but at the moment it’s not a problem.
The end:
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"When does a run not benefit you?"... I think every run benefits you in one way or another. Even those "bad" runs that have little physical benefit (or that actually hurt you) can still be good mentally, can teach you how to keep going when it hurts.