I Had a Terrible Long Run - Here’s What I Did Next

I had a really bad long run this weekend.

My next 100-miler is in a month, so I’m ramping up my training. I tried a new course that I knew would be challenging and gave myself the whole day to finish it—plenty of time to go slow and adjust.

But I made some key mistakes, it was harder than I expected, and as a result I ran poorly—and only got half the miles I planned.

The thought that kept running through my head as I finished: “This is a disaster.”

But I know that thought - any thought like that, not the run itself - would severely damage my training.

If I had let that thought stand unchallenged, here’s what would’ve happened next.

I would’ve imagined my next runs going the same way.

I’d see everything that was wrong with those runs.

I’d assume I was falling behind.

I’d start questioning if I should even start the race.

And then the spiral would gain momentum.

You probably know all too well how this works. It starts with a bad long run or build up race, and snowballs into:

• “I’m not ready.”

• “I’m failing at training.”

• “I’m going to show up underprepared and fall apart.”

• “I’ll be embarrassed.”

• “Why did I sign up?”

• “I don’t belong out there.”

Next thing you know, you’re not just worried about the race. You’re doubting the rest of your life. You start seeing proof everywhere that you’re not doing enough—on the trail, at home, at work. Everything feels heavier. Harder. Less in your control.

So you try to force optimism. You tell yourself to be positive, to shake it off.

You promise yourself you’ll train harder to “make up for it.” But now every run feels like a test you can’t fail. There’s too much pressure.

You tell yourself you’ll train harder to make up for it. But now every run feels like a finals exam—there’s too much pressure.

So you start dreading training—or avoiding it altogether.

And then? You either show up to the race undertrained and scared…or you don’t show up at all.

Here’s the point: It’s not the bad long run that causes all this.

It’s the one negative thought you didn’t catch—and how far it spiraled before you noticed. That’s the real problem.

And here’s the real solution: Learn how to spot that first thought and turn it around before it causes real damage.

This isn’t about pretending the run went well. Or denying your frustration. It’s about changing the way you see the reality of the run—so you can move forward.

When I caught myself thinking “this is a disaster,” I stopped and looked again. Sure, the run didn’t go the way I planned. But it wasn’t useless. I learned a ton that will make the rest of my training better than it would have been.

And I could adjust. I could make up some miles later if I wanted (I did, and got the rainbow in the photo at the end).

By the end of the weekend, I felt optimistic for real. Not because I forced it. Because I took back control of that first thought and stopped the spiral.

That’s a skill you can learn.

And it truly changes everything. It’s the first mindset skill I learned that took me from DNFing every other 100-mile race to finishing 152 of them.

Because when you can stop a problematic thought from taking over, you keep your training on track.

And on race day, you’re ready. You run stronger, smarter, and enjoy the process a whole lot more.