It never really dawned on me as to why athletes get so emotional at the end of a race or competition – not until I trained for an endurance event of my own. I quickly realized that race day is the culmination of blood, sweat, tears, and time that are poured into the event; it is everything leading up to that moment. The event itself is short-term, but the training approaching it is so much more. It becomes one of your biggest priorities; something that you have to put in front of other things even when you’d rather not. And you best believe that there are days when training is not pretty. It can feel like the death of you and make you question how the hell you are going to push through the workout and, sometimes, how on Earth you’re going to get through your second training session in that same day …

Yup, you guessed it. Training isn’t always a piece of cake. Yes, surely there are days that make you feel invincible and so incredibly strong that you cannot be stopped. As an endurance athlete, those are the best days and the ones you could never have enough of. However, the staunch truth of it all is the glaring fact that there are, without a doubt, going to be tough, challenging days that make you question it all. This is normal and as athletes, we all go through this.

It’s not just about physical ability. Mental strength and toughness plays a large role in your success and capability to push through your bad days. Mastering the mental side of endurance takes time, but dedicated focus on a positive mindset is key. For many of us, it is so easy to become negative when something takes an unfavorable turn. As silly as it sounds, small reminders like “one foot in front of the other” and breaking your activity into smaller, more digestible segments can really make a difference. Take it one mile at a time vs. 26.2 miles all at once. You wouldn’t go on a road-trip and simply focus on the address of your destination, but rather the step-by-step directions that will lead you to your goal. Apply that same mentality to your training.

And don’t forget – take the bad days with a grain of salt. They are going to happen. There is no getting around it. But, they do not have to be the end-all-be-all. Take them for what they are, but don’t see them for more than that. There is no reason to add more pressure to yourself and doubt your capability. We all have it within us. Those voices in your head that are telling you that you don’t are just testing you. Our tired, aching bodies can do amazing things when we invest our minds.

Bad days are normal. Inevitable, really. They are part of the long-term training process. However, don’t forget that they are trivial.