Worst run ever.

Saturday afternoon, after getting back in town from son #2's soccer games, I decided I wanted to try to run the route for the 5k I'm scheduled to run at the beginning of May. I should've seen the red flags. I should've known this was a bad idea.

First, my legs were really tired after standing on the side of a soccer field for three hours earlier in the day. I think they were sore from running the night before, but they just weren't well rested and they ached.

Second, I printed the route and decided to drive it first so I knew where I was going without having to refer to a map while running. It took me an HOUR to figure it out. All because there's one little part of the run that is on a foot path and I had no way to know that I couldn't drive it. So, I spent a HUGE amount of time trying to find a road that didn't exist. By the time I finally figured it all out, it was almost dinner time, I was cranky and tired, and had pretty much lost my motivation. And, running for me, more than anything, is a mind game.

THEN, I parked my car at my office and set off. But, I had my huge set of keys, my cell phone, by route map, my ipod...and it was way too hot for my jacket that had the pocket to hold everything. So, around 1/4 mile into it, I peeled off the jacket and tied it around my waist. So, everything was jingling and hitting me in the rear end and the jacket kept sliding down my hips and I had to keep re-knotting it tighter, in hopes that it would stop sliding around.

I should've known. It just seemed doomed from the beginning. I think I ran too fast. I think it was hotter than I'm used to. I think my brain was screwing with my motivation. I took a wrong turn and ran down two dead-end roads. I had to stop and walk before I was even a mile in. Then, I alternated between running and walking the rest of the way. It was just awful. Seriously. The worst run I've had since I started. And it was bad that I picked the one day that I ran that route to have a bad day. It totally messed up my confidence in my ability to be able to run it in just three short weeks.

Sigh. I'm going to try again tomorrow morning. Hopefully, that will be better.