In a rut

Let me just start this by saying that I love running. Without it I feel lost. Without it I become quite irritable. But sometimes a bad run is worse than not running at all.

The past three runs that I've gone on were the three most difficult and sometimes painful runs that I've had in a looooong time. And that's saying a lot, considering I've been running for as long as I can remember.

Wednesday - underfueled, terrible cramps
Thursday - exhausted, terrible cramps
Friday - still exhausted, still having terrible cramps

Three days of wanting to stop, mid-run, and curl up in someone's lawn is not my idea of a relaxing summer run. I'm trying not to take this slump of a week too seriously; it's been hot and I highly doubt I've been hydrating enough for this heat (although it has been steadily cooling off throughout the week, dehydration can linger). I mean, everyone can have an off week...right? It just comes with the territory of running.

So. Um. Yeah. I love the distance running (if this week's mileage even qualifies as long distance) but I think it's time for me to shake up my routine a bit, focus on fueling and hydrating, and hopefully stop having anger-inducing workouts.