How to cope with weak days

There are days when nothing works. Things that would otherwise be easy for us suddenly seem impossible. We are neither sick, nor did we drink too much the night before. There appears to be no plausible reason for our performance low. We must learn to deal with such days.

A running session made in hell

Last week there was a day that shocked me.

I put on my running clothes, tied my shoes, and left the apartment to complete the second of three runs this week.

I started running again in March 2019 after an eight-year break and had gained fourteen kilos by that time. In my first run, I only managed a little more than two kilometers. After that, I could hardly breathe for ten minutes, and my cardiovascular system almost let me down.

But I kept up and trained three times a week for the next few months.

Meanwhile, I can run seven kilometers again without interruption. I know the progress sounds slow, but I didn’t want to hurt myself or overwhelm myself. Ten kilometers in fifty-five minutes, like before my eight-year break, are still a long way off. But I will manage to get back to that level.

So that day a week ago, I was in good spirits. My last run two days ago went very well. I had improved my best time over seven kilometers, and I felt good.

So I started my running app and started running.

After less than one kilometer, I noticed that something was wrong. My shins started to hurt, and with every step, it got worse.

I reduced my tempo and hoped that the problem would soon come to an end. Instead, it got worse. I also got ultimately out of breath. After almost two kilometers, I felt as if I had already completed half a marathon.

A short time later, I had to give up. I couldn’t run another step.

I stopped gasping and finished my training by pressing Stop in my app.

When I saw how far I had come, I couldn’t believe it: 2.1 kilometers. That was a bit less than I had managed in my first run eight months ago.

How was that possible?

Frustrated, I sneaked home and took a shower.

Causal research

After taking a shower, I sat down, took paper and pencil, and noted down what I had done, eaten, and drunk in the last two days. There had to be a reason for my weakness.

Half an hour later, I was more at a loss than before. I had slept enough, eaten healthy, and did not drink alcohol. I didn’t feel sick either, and I wasn’t worried about anything.

I had run my worst run in eight months, and I found no reason for it.

Continue and observe

Finally, I accepted that I was having a bad day. There was nothing I could do about it, so I didn’t have to keep thinking about it.

Instead, I decided to wait for the next run. If this day were just an exception, it would show at the upcoming training. Either my performance would return to a reasonable level, or the disaster would repeat itself.

In the latter case, I would know that something was fundamentally wrong. Then I would go to the doctor and have a thorough examination.

Back to normal form

Two days later, I went back on my running lap. I was a bit nervous because I was afraid to perform catastrophically again. So I started with mixed feelings.

Quite quickly, I noticed that things were quite different today than last time. My legs felt healthy, my breathing remained steady, and even after three kilometers, I didn’t slow down.

Apparently, my body was fully operational again.

I finished this run after seven kilometers close to my best time.

Conclusion

Bad days happen. Often there is no apparent reason why we sometimes don’t perform as well as we would otherwise.

Experiencing such a day can be frightening, but you should not panic. If the drop in performance has no deeper reasons such as illness or intense psychological stress, the next day will usually be quite typical again.

A bad day is only a bad day. We only have to become active when the low form lasts longer.

This is true in sport, but also all other areas of life.

Are you an author and usually write three thousand words a day without any effort, but have you only managed two sentences today?

Are you a freelancer and usually work eight hours without getting tired and have no energy left after just three hours?

No matter in which area of life a weak day catches you — it’s normal and usually no reason to worry.

But such a day can still be dangerous. If you worry too much about it, this fear can inhibit you.

If you are afraid of failing again tomorrow, the likelihood that it will happen increases.

When that happens, you are the victim of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Be aware of this danger the next time you have a weak day.

Worries can slow you down much more than a single day when things don’t go as you expect.

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