Worst Run or Best Run?

Since I started running about a month ago, I've tried to run Monday, Wednesday and Friday's with a fourth run on the weekend. It's gone quite well, and even though I've had to juggle a few days to keep the "4 runs a week" happening, I'm proud to say I've kept up with my schedule and I've felt pretty good each day I've got out there.

Until today.

I worked all day, then was in the dentist chair from 4:00 till 6:30 getting 6 (yes SIX) fillings,,, though they were quite small, then I walked home feeling pretty good. After a little time on the couch, I did what I've had to do over the last month or so and force myself off the couch, into my running shoes and out the door. Once out there, I felt terrible. Not so bad that I thought I was causing injury or was going to pass out. But I was sore, I was tired, my feet ached, I had zero energy and my "6K Run" was more like a "6K Shuffle". It was actually a little embarrassing.

Maybe it was the local anaesthetic in my system, or maybe it was the two and half hours laying slightly upside down'ish in the dentist chair, or maybe it just wasn't my day for running. Whatever the reason, my Nike+ GPS watch didn't lie. It tried to cheer me up by letting me know I had broke a record with longest run time. HA, yeah,, longest run all right. That will happen when you running about as fast as The Queen Mum at 101 with two new hips. While I was out there, I felt like this was my worst run ever.

But, I did it. 6.07K, in 37 minutes 24 seconds, burning 585 calories, with a pace of 6'10". Not one for the record books, but it was still my Wednesday run, and as much as I didn't want to go to begin with, and as much as I wanted to stop while I was out there, and as much as I wish my stats were a lot better for today, it was still exactly what I set out to do. And that's get into shape, lose some weight and start feeling good about myself again.

I've been pretty active in my life with skiing, biking, hiking, kayaking, and just getting out enjoying the great outdoors. But those activities are fun. Running, well that takes determination. You have to reach down inside you and find something you don't use very often. You have to beat the excuses off with a baseball bat. And that's just to get to the start line.

So as I sit here tonight, the freezing has warn off, my jaw is aching a bit (more than my legs, feet or knees), I'm wondering if instead of feeling like today was my worst run, I should actually be extremely proud of myself, as I faced those excuses head on today, and won.

I'm thinking that today was actually one of my best runs.