So you've had a bad run.

So you've had a bad run. What to do now? First thing is to look at it honestly and try to figure out why it was bad. Questions you can ask yourself are:
1. Are you injured, tired, or stressed?
2. Was there something on your mind that distracted you?
3. How was the weather?
4. Could you be over trained?
If the answers to these questions don't give you the answer, it could just be that it wasn't your day. Don't beat yourself up about it. If you can identify what it was that caused it to be bad, write it down so you remember not to repeat it. If not, just acknowledge that it was a bad run, log it, file it, record it however you want and get on with your life. You shouldn't hang on to the bad ones just like you can't hold on to the good ones. Each workout will be different and its own experience. Don't deny it and pretend like it didn't happen, learn what you can from it and move on. To help, think about what you tell a good friend and try to change your “self talk” to be like that. You want to be honest so you can learn and grow, but not so negative that it will ruin your day or next workout. We tend to be so critical of ourselves and say and think thinks about ourselves that we would never even consider saying to a friend.