Good days and bad days

Yesterday, thanks to my fabulous neighbor, I was able to sneak out for a grueling 18 mile run.  I say "grueling" because that's the best word I can think of that can best describe that run.  Sure, the weather was gorgeous, the sun was beaming without a cloud to cover it's glory, nature was singing it up on the trail, but that didn't seem to help push these tired, heavy legs very fast or far.  I'm starting to question myself, wondering if I've pushed the line too far, wondering if I'm on the verge of overtraining.  Those thoughts scare me, it's so not what I want to think!  But I can't help but wonder because these past several runs have been tough.  Tough to mentally push through them, legs feeling pretty tired and worn out.  But each day I wake up and look forward to running, I want it like I want breakfast.  That keeps me going, at least the desire is there, I just need the body to follow.  Forcing myself to take a day off today, but that's been hard...may still sneak down to the treadmill for a late night run...or maybe will just soak in the hot tub instead. 

Besides jumping over a 3 foot long snake in the middle of the trail and many huge blobs of horse poop, all else went without a hitch.  Not too many people running in the heat of the day yesterday, but I enjoyed the peacefulness and serenity of the trail, it was fabulous.  Averaged a 9:04 pace, but did stop my watch for a few water stops.  The goal of the run was to run continuous, with 20 sec stops for hydrating and watering bushes. :)  Unfortunately, that all fell to pieces about 14 miles into the run.  Walk, run, jog, push, try, walk, run, jog, push, try....seemed to be the pattern for the next 4 miles.  It's not like the first 14 miles were fast, in fact, they were much slower than I typically run on long days.  Hopefully, I can chalk it all up to just having a long, tough workout week.  The addition of swimming and biking, while maintaining weights, sprints, and long runs, may all have contributed to several tough run days.  I'm willing to just see how this week pans out.