But when I have a sucky run I feel I've failed sometimes. I think rather than spurring myself on by being a "positive" coach-- the "you can do it" type (the type of person I am for others) I tend to be more the negative type of coach. "Can't you do better" "Is that all you have to give?".
Am I making any sense at all?
I'm trying to get to square one and be a positive coach for myself rather than a negative coach.
I really hate intervals because they're all timed and if the times start creeping up, I get upset with myself.
Are you a new runner too? You have to keep your training in perspecitve to your dedication to training and years you've been at it. I think you're doing really well. :)
Noted. It's not that I'd ever be a professional runner (except in my dreams when I'm incredibly fast and win races, lol), or expect to be. It's really about enjoying the routine and everthing that goes with it. I mentioned earlier in a post about why we run that, for me, it's about small victories. Whether you're an elite runner or someone trying to get from 28 to 27 minutes in a 5K, I think both people desire competition, either with others or themselves. I know I do. I guess that's the difference between the runner for health/fitness and the competitive runner. If I stop becoming competitive with myself and eventually others, I can always transition into the other type of runner. That's why this sport is so cool. You don't need a team to play. :)
You're not alone, Rando. I almost quit running twice because I was SO hard on myself that any run where I didn't see improvement was a bad run, and I grew to dread and hate my daily workouts. Being benched for the fractures last year showed me what I would have lost by quitting, and now I have a totally different view, or I should say, I am working toward one, more similar to yours. I want to be grateful that I can run, not worried so much about HOW I run. I have no illusions about ever being competitive so for me, it's all about the joy of running itself. I still struggle with the part of me who says "you suck, you slow thing, give it up and do something else that you CAN do well" but I am learning to tell her to shut up more often. ;)
Every year I run, I learn more and more about the sport. In the past year having been part of this website, I been brought back to the chapter that Randy and Genie talk about. Just lacing up the shoes and running to run is returning to the forefront for me. The last few years I haven't been able to admit (not that I am now) that my fastest races are behind me. I'll never run a 4:30 mile again or a sub 17-5km. An injury prone aging body with a dozen extra pounds battles with the competitive snot in me nearly every workout. Just like Genie says, I'm learning to tell the snot in me to shut up.