Sometimes you go out for a run and it feels great and you could run forever. I love days like that.

And then there are those runs where you go out and you feel flat with each step you take.

I felt like the latter over the past weekend (and the soreness in the couple of days afterwards) as i did my longest run for a few months, as i continued to build up my run distance after spraining my ankle in early January. It has been frustrating but it got me thinking about my training prior to Christmas and the progress i was making with my training in preparation for my first 100km ultramarathon vs the minor setback i was currently experiencing.

I came to the realisation (and acceptance) that your feet are going to be sore, your arms are going to be tired, your hips are going to tighten, your calves are going to hurt, your stomach could becomequeasy/upset, you can relax into all of those feelings of discomfort and focus on what you’re doing.

The longer my run training goes, the more the challenge shifts to be more mental than anything else. You have to let yourself accept you are going to experience highs and lows during training (and races too) but then let it go in order to have a solid run. If you focus on the discomfort, this concentration will eat away at you and no good comes from that - that’s for sure.

When you’re working it out in a hill or speed session, you expect to start to feel uncomfortable. Working hard, pushing the pace will get your heart and lungs pumping, this is what will help you achieve new levels of endurance. These types of workouts are what prepares your body for those long runs and conditions your mind for the discomfort you will have to, on some level, disregard in order to get to the end goal.

I believe that to be a good distance runner, or endurance athlete for that matter, you have to be prepared to get uncomfortable.