by Ujena Fit Club Coach Barry Anderson  I have never met a runner in the past 45 years that has not had a bad day during a workout or race for one reason or another. And for most, there will be many bad days. Maybe your breathing is a little more labored or your legs just don’t feel good—even on an easy run. Or, perhaps, you had to cut a workout short or did not reach the interval times you had planned. It happens to all of us.

The most important thing to remember is not to let these bad days discourage you in your efforts to improve. Try to find some positives in these bad days. Sometimes the only positive may be the fact that you got out the door and did the your best. It is also a good idea to look for possible reasons that you had a bad day. Review your training logs and see if your bad day could be due to increases in weekly mileage or the intensity of earlier workouts. Sleep, nutrition, weather conditions, and impending illness can also be a cause.

Just remember, even on a bad day you have made an improvement. You have put in your effort and can look forward to the next day and the next opportunity to have a good day.

Barry Anderson was the women’s track coach for 10 years at Kansas State University. He organized the first women’s Big 8 conference championship, and coached over 30 athletes that earned All-American status.

Photo: at the end of a bad race (Bob Anderson Zippy 5k SF)

I love this article because it relates to the past two weeks for me. I have not felt good at all for the last two weeks. I continued on even though my miliage was lacking and then ran a marathon. Even though I felt bad for two weeks and I just new I would do terrable on the race I ran it anyway. Ended up setting PB times from 9 miles up in once race. Of course anything over 13.1 miles would be a pb no matter what time I got. Just like you said in the article een though you feel bad and it seems you are not improving you are. Dont let the bad days force you to quite!
Steven Richardson 6/4/12 7:30 am

Thanks Steven. Hope you are recovering well from your marathon.
Barry Anderson 6/4/12 1:42 pm

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by Ujena Fit Club Coach Barry Anderson  For the most part, our lives revolve around some type of time schedule. We generally wake, and eat, and sleep at relatively consistent times of the day or night. And, our bodies adapt very well to this type of routine over a period of time. Adding a regular time—or times for you twice-a-day runners—to your daily schedule for your workout is a good practice.

First, it will increase the chance that you will be sure to get out the door for your daily training run. And secondly, like with the adaptations your body makes for meals and sleep, your body will adapt to your training time. Even though some days it won’t feel like it, your body will be ready to run and will also become accustomed to the rest periods between workouts.

There is a potential drawback, particularly for those just getting started. Don’t become so inflexible with your schedule that you don’t workout if you miss your scheduled workout time for one reason or another. If you know you won’t be able to workout at your normal time in the afternoon, try a brief morning run. Also, if you do have to miss a workout for one reason or another on occasion, it won’t be the end of the progress you have been making. Often times a day off can be just as important as a workout so don’t fret over an occasional change in your schedule.

Barry Anderson was the women’s track coach for 10 years at Kansas State University. He organized the first women’s Big 8 conference championship, and coached over 30 athletes that earned All-American status. Barry just started back running last year after a 26 year layoff. He ran competitively from age 13 through college. "My brother Bob got me started running in the early 60's...and he has done it again now that I am 60."

Photo: Training run in Manhattan Kansas.  Photo by Catherine Cross Ujena Fit Club