When not to “push through”

Something I see from a lot of fellow “getting back into it” runners or first time runners is this feeling of guilt for not wanting to run or feeling like they need to hit a certain pace or not take walk breaks.

I woke up for my run this morning and thought, “huh, my legs are a little sore and I’m a little tired.” I still felt up for getting out there and paid extra attention to keep it at a 2 RPE. I ended up walking most of my run, and you know what? I achieved my goal for the day. Today was an easy run, and running was just a little too hard for my body. It’s ok.

In the big picture, I am more concerned about being able to run next week and next month than running more today. If my tiredness persists for more than a week I’ll worry about it, but a one-off is a one-off. I hope everyone else here allows themselves that same grace.