Well, It's a good thing I had a nice track workout this week because last nights tempo was pretty ugly. Thanks to mother nature I had perfect weather, but thanks to being a female I got it on the worst day of the month for me running. Blah! Felt like absolute crap all day and though the tempo didn't look too intimidating on paper I had a feeling it would be tougher than usual.
Understatement!
My stomach was a mess and I had cramps from hell but I laced up and got it done the best I could. The warm up was SLOW, so slow I did an extra mile to try and get something from my legs before turning up the pace. Alas it was just not my night to run fast. Basically the entire workout felt like I was running uphill (which would be impossible considering I did several out and backs). I was supposed to get in 8 at 6:25 and I was only under 6:40 for the 2nd and last mile. Everything else between 6:40 and 6:53. Ouch! It wasn't for lack of effort either sadly. I ran hard the whole way and ignored the watch. Only one pit stop at 5.5 for a really pissed stomach.
Oh well, you gotta weather the tough ones sometimes. I really wanted to bag it and try again today but I decided that it was better to gut it out and get whatever I could out of the effort. I've had too many tempos in the past where I blew up and quit. No quitting on workouts this year because of slow paces! Hopefully the effort is what's really important ;)
Showing posts with label tempo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tempo. Show all posts
6*6:45, 2*6:30
Ahh marathon recovery workouts, when long run paces become tempo paces, and they feel like it :) No matter how you slice it or what pace it is at I am finding an 8 mile tempo effort is a long one. Today went better than I anticipated, last night I could barely run 9 minute pace so I wasn't too optimistic about running 8 miles under 7. Thankfully the legs seemed ok and the paces weren't unbearable. But they definitely aren't as easy as they would have been a few weeks before Boston!
I had company for the first two and at least had some people to watch ahead of me for the next three but the last three were solo.
6:38.61
6:42.95
6:42.69
6:38.99
6:43.42
6:40.06
6:18.49
6:17.76
And with that I actually achieved two workouts this week :) We'll see how that recovery run tomorrow goes!
I had company for the first two and at least had some people to watch ahead of me for the next three but the last three were solo.
6:38.61
6:42.95
6:42.69
6:38.99
6:43.42
6:40.06
6:18.49
6:17.76
And with that I actually achieved two workouts this week :) We'll see how that recovery run tomorrow goes!
Another Lonely Tempo
Unfortunately my schedule and those that could and/or are willing to run my tempos with me are not alligning right now so I was on my own for last nights tempo. I could run at lunch and have company for some of the run but then I have to deal with marginal winds, and getting in the whole tempo during lunch hour is a bit nutty. I guess solo is the lesser evil!
I haven't really been struggling with the tempos or the paces lately (knock on wood) so I wasn't too worried about running by myself. But, I had an 8 mile progression run on tap. 4 at 6:30, 3 at 6:20, and last one at 6:10. No matter how you slice it being focused for 8 straight miles is a bit mentally taxing even when your legs feel great. 6:30s are just fast enough to require attention but just easy enough that I tend to slack mentally and I easily fall off the pace :)
Went from tank top weather on Wednesday to pretty darn chilly last night and I did not bring the proper attire. I settled for buns, a tee, and long sleeve. I was hot enough to strip the long sleeve but really could have used some gloves and an ear band. By mid tempo my hands were frozen and I am pretty sure part of my brain was too.
Despite all that my legs actually did feel pretty good and physically the tempo went great. Nailing the paces and staying focused was not an easy task and for some reason this was one of those nights where time seemed to slow to a halt. Perhaps this is because I have stopped looking at the watch so much, but some of these miles seemed like 3 :) I am sure the windy segments didn't help with nailing pace but somehow each mile came out right in the end which is always nice!
Glad to have that one done!
6:25, 6:28, 6:29, 6:32, 6:17, 6:15, 6:15, 6:00
I haven't really been struggling with the tempos or the paces lately (knock on wood) so I wasn't too worried about running by myself. But, I had an 8 mile progression run on tap. 4 at 6:30, 3 at 6:20, and last one at 6:10. No matter how you slice it being focused for 8 straight miles is a bit mentally taxing even when your legs feel great. 6:30s are just fast enough to require attention but just easy enough that I tend to slack mentally and I easily fall off the pace :)
Went from tank top weather on Wednesday to pretty darn chilly last night and I did not bring the proper attire. I settled for buns, a tee, and long sleeve. I was hot enough to strip the long sleeve but really could have used some gloves and an ear band. By mid tempo my hands were frozen and I am pretty sure part of my brain was too.
Despite all that my legs actually did feel pretty good and physically the tempo went great. Nailing the paces and staying focused was not an easy task and for some reason this was one of those nights where time seemed to slow to a halt. Perhaps this is because I have stopped looking at the watch so much, but some of these miles seemed like 3 :) I am sure the windy segments didn't help with nailing pace but somehow each mile came out right in the end which is always nice!
Glad to have that one done!
6:25, 6:28, 6:29, 6:32, 6:17, 6:15, 6:15, 6:00
Lonely Tempo
Tuesday night we went to see the Black Keys at the Q. They put on a pretty good show though the venue left something to be desired for them I think. Trisaratops and EH tagged along for the fun and thankfully I clicked over to Sara's blog before my tempo last night because Lonely Boy was apparently the perfect pace to nail my tempo intervals last night despite doing them on a softer surface (towpath) and it being rather hot (80!)! I love it when it just seems to fall into place like that without forcing it.
Goal was 4 sets of 2 miles at 6:20 pace with 3 minute jogs between each set. How I love those 3 minute recovery jogs!!!
Managed to hit every one except the first and was even close on that one!
6:24.48+6:17.95
6:15.21+6:17.89
6:15.70+6:18.82
6:17.42+6:11.64
I was very grateful the fountains were on and I was able to hydrate between the second and third set!
Ran this one solo though I did have a few spottings of Camp the Champ as she headed out after me with a friend to get in her much speedier tempo intervals!
Goal was 4 sets of 2 miles at 6:20 pace with 3 minute jogs between each set. How I love those 3 minute recovery jogs!!!
Managed to hit every one except the first and was even close on that one!
6:24.48+6:17.95
6:15.21+6:17.89
6:15.70+6:18.82
6:17.42+6:11.64
I was very grateful the fountains were on and I was able to hydrate between the second and third set!
Ran this one solo though I did have a few spottings of Camp the Champ as she headed out after me with a friend to get in her much speedier tempo intervals!
Wishing I was Superwoman Tempo
One of these days I will learn some lessons about tempos. Today was not that day :)
The workout on tap really didn't seem too hard. We've been doing 8 mile tempos for a few weeks and last weeks 8 at 6:25 was pretty relaxed. So today's 6 starting at 6:50 and getting down to 6:00 seemed like a pretty doable challenge.
And here is where we impart some wisdom for ourselves to learn from.
1) I am always a bit tired on Thursdays. Paces that feel easy on Sunday are challenging on Thursday. This is the way it has always been for me, and despite the new found happiness and change of attitude it hasn't changed. I am still a bit tired and rundown on Thursdays.
2) Given #1 I should learn to set myself up for success on my tempos. This would mean running a course that is not as challenging the second half as the first or running with the right people to help pace. Instead I seem to set myself up for failure quite often in the hopes that it will somehow make me tougher if I succeed despite the added challenges.
3) It is windy in Cleveland and that wind is almost always coming from the west.
4) When it is that windy stop targeting the paces and target the effort. It is near impossible to run certain paces into the Marginal wind on the best of days, let alone on Thursdays!
All that said here is how it played out :)
6:34.20 (This was laughably easy, I was holding a very animated conversation and not working hard at all, this should have been a sign of what was to come!)
6:37.23
6:30.28
6:19.62
0.51 at 6:19 pace
I was absolutely wiped out at this point and falling way off pace so I took a 2:30 jog to recover and then ignored the watch and just ran hard for 1.5
6:29.65
0.50 at 6:08 pace (This was downhill assisted and extremely painful, absolutely wasted at the end)
All in all, not bad, wish I would have stopped looking at the watch after the 4th mile and just went by effort so I could have backed it off a bit and not taken the break. I for some reason discount the wind while I am in the heat of the tempo and start wondering if I am dealing with exhaustion or being a pansy etc. I need to give myself more credit than that and chalk it up to reality, it was really windy and it juiced me, end of story.
Next time I run a progression run in Cleveland mark my words I will not run East on the way out no matter how tempting it is to have company! Solo would have been better today and running with the wind at my back on the back half would have been a fun bolster whereas dieing into the wind on the way back was just a suffer fest!
The workout on tap really didn't seem too hard. We've been doing 8 mile tempos for a few weeks and last weeks 8 at 6:25 was pretty relaxed. So today's 6 starting at 6:50 and getting down to 6:00 seemed like a pretty doable challenge.
And here is where we impart some wisdom for ourselves to learn from.
1) I am always a bit tired on Thursdays. Paces that feel easy on Sunday are challenging on Thursday. This is the way it has always been for me, and despite the new found happiness and change of attitude it hasn't changed. I am still a bit tired and rundown on Thursdays.
2) Given #1 I should learn to set myself up for success on my tempos. This would mean running a course that is not as challenging the second half as the first or running with the right people to help pace. Instead I seem to set myself up for failure quite often in the hopes that it will somehow make me tougher if I succeed despite the added challenges.
3) It is windy in Cleveland and that wind is almost always coming from the west.
4) When it is that windy stop targeting the paces and target the effort. It is near impossible to run certain paces into the Marginal wind on the best of days, let alone on Thursdays!
All that said here is how it played out :)
6:34.20 (This was laughably easy, I was holding a very animated conversation and not working hard at all, this should have been a sign of what was to come!)
6:37.23
6:30.28
6:19.62
0.51 at 6:19 pace
I was absolutely wiped out at this point and falling way off pace so I took a 2:30 jog to recover and then ignored the watch and just ran hard for 1.5
6:29.65
0.50 at 6:08 pace (This was downhill assisted and extremely painful, absolutely wasted at the end)
All in all, not bad, wish I would have stopped looking at the watch after the 4th mile and just went by effort so I could have backed it off a bit and not taken the break. I for some reason discount the wind while I am in the heat of the tempo and start wondering if I am dealing with exhaustion or being a pansy etc. I need to give myself more credit than that and chalk it up to reality, it was really windy and it juiced me, end of story.
Next time I run a progression run in Cleveland mark my words I will not run East on the way out no matter how tempting it is to have company! Solo would have been better today and running with the wind at my back on the back half would have been a fun bolster whereas dieing into the wind on the way back was just a suffer fest!
Thursdays=Tempo
I think I can finally start calling these Thursday workouts a tempo effort again. This one certainly felt like it :) Goal was 8 miles at 6:25. I thankfully was able to meet up with NC as she is feeling a bit iron deficient and needed to back off the paces this week. I remember the good ole days when I was the dominant tempo-er in our little training pair :) These days she is off and running like a beast (Top Ohioan at the trials baby!) so it is rare I can actually do a a workout with her as I am recovering from injury and slowing getting back into things and she has been on that fast and steady progression into a top notch national caliber runner.
That all said never underestimate the power of a training partner for those hard efforts. Last night was so much easier mentally and physically with her on board. I had an extremely stressful day at work and I really had my doubts I had it in me to do any kind of workout, so it was a pleasant surprise to just roll out with NC and let her be in charge of pace while I just focused on chatting with her, catching up and trying to put a little fun into my day!
8 miles at an average of 6:22 pace later (with one brief bathroom stop at mile 3) I was feeling sooo much better about life! Funny how a good run can do that for you!
That all said never underestimate the power of a training partner for those hard efforts. Last night was so much easier mentally and physically with her on board. I had an extremely stressful day at work and I really had my doubts I had it in me to do any kind of workout, so it was a pleasant surprise to just roll out with NC and let her be in charge of pace while I just focused on chatting with her, catching up and trying to put a little fun into my day!
8 miles at an average of 6:22 pace later (with one brief bathroom stop at mile 3) I was feeling sooo much better about life! Funny how a good run can do that for you!
More Track Fun
Breakfast for space cadets who leave their chobani in the fridge despite repeated reminders to themselves not to forget breakfast.
I made the executive decision that the tempo run had to get done before work today or it was likely not to happen. Working out of the mothership in Fairfax has been fun, but it is intense and the hours are crazy and by the time I get "home" after an 11 hour or so day the last thing I want to do is throw on the shoes, even though once I do I am ecstatic and feel like I could run all night.
So I gave myself three options this morning. Very early metro, semi early metro, and last metro you can take and still get back to the office at a respectable start time. My lazy butt opted for the third and I just barely made the train and in my rush forgot breakfast (I have to say Chobani and granola are much wiser breakfasts than a pay day from the machine, but it was ok in a pinch!) and my headphones. (It's going to be a quiet day at the office and a quiet commute home without Pandora!) Doh!
I also did not eat anything, caffeinate, or hydrate because you can't eat or drink on the metro! And I was cutting the timing close after having to shoot off some work emails before heading out for the run. The nice thing about the crazy commute is I had 30+ minutes of work done before I even got to work or started the workout!
I opted to go back to the track I found Tuesday because the terrain here is hilly as heck and traffic is kind of crazy, I didn't have time to find a really good tempo route so the track it was!
Goal was 3 sets of 2 miles at 6:25 pace with 7:00 miles in between each set.
Got in about 1.5 miles of warm up and started the first set from the road, did about a half mile on the road then the rest on the track. A little slow to start but got the pace down by the end. The 7:00 stuff felt nice and smooth, the 6:25s were work but doable. Given how tired I was, how I hadn't eaten and really could have used a coffee I was very pleased with how it went. I knew the paces would feel better on the track than roads and I was glad to find that was the case despite the stressful week. I'd much rather do this workout on roads, but the track is great for pacing, kind of mindless, just crank out 96 over and over and over again! I certainly didn't feel perky but everything was doable. I ran the first 3 miles in one direction and then switched directions after each 7:00 mile to try and keep the hips/core allignment happy.
6:29, 6:20, 7:02, 6:23, 6:19, 7:02, 6:16, 6:10
The warm up and cool down (1.5 each) were a little longer than I would have preferred, but that is the life of a runner on the road I guess!
In order to keep my mind from getting stressed like it did Tuesday I picked a great little tune to keep me from getting anxious and to keep my mind off of everything but the run (Another Runs on Beer recomendation, though I was a fan I just didn't know it, Lisa H. is the female vocals on all of Damien Rice's early stuff!). It has been really hard this week to not focus on work every second of the day and I found my mind drifting to my to do list a few times despite my best efforts.
Upbeat Thursday Run
Yesterdays run went well despite the clear mind block on my part that forgot that marginal has a tendency of feeling like there is no wind at your back on the way out and then turning around into a head wind of monsoon proportions when you head East first ;) Bring it mother nature!
Thankfully the paces are pretty easy right now and it wasn't an issue stepping it up a bit on the way back to nail the slight progression run. I actually overcompensated for the winds and hill a bit and ran a little fast the last two miles.
Goal was 6 miles at 7:00 and 2 at 6:45
Ended up with 6 at 6:59ish and 2 at 6:35ish.
The left calf is a little tight still so I had ART on that and the stubborn heel yesterday and this morning at PT had a nice foot and calf massage followed by learning some calf and foot exercises that will hopefully get this entire body on track soon!
Thankfully the paces are pretty easy right now and it wasn't an issue stepping it up a bit on the way back to nail the slight progression run. I actually overcompensated for the winds and hill a bit and ran a little fast the last two miles.
Goal was 6 miles at 7:00 and 2 at 6:45
Ended up with 6 at 6:59ish and 2 at 6:35ish.
The left calf is a little tight still so I had ART on that and the stubborn heel yesterday and this morning at PT had a nice foot and calf massage followed by learning some calf and foot exercises that will hopefully get this entire body on track soon!
Thursday Up Tempo Effort
Goal: 8 at 7:10 pace
Actual: 8 at 7:00 pace
Nice chilly morning in Euclid and the sidewalks were clear thanks to this unseasonably warm winter. Not sure if it was the trainer ride last night making my turnover high, my excitement to be working out again, or my unusually high (even for me) energy levels, but I just could not keep this at 7:10 this morning (sorry coach!). I just went by feel this morning and didn't really want to pay attention to the watch, I just planned on using average pace for the whole run and starting slow and ending with the right average. Cue running the first mile in 6:58. I looked at the watch every half mile or so and consciously tried to back off the effort and hit 7:10s but each time I did glance back at it I was closer to 6:55 to 7:05. I'm going to enjoy it while I can because I am sure the workouts will get tougher soon and I will have to be more diligent about not exceeding the goal early in the run to ensure I complete the entire workout as intended. But this morning the effort felt pretty casual and I made sure the body wasn't complaining at all and just went with it!
I canned the warm up and cool down run and instead did a more dynamic type effort on both as I didn't want to go over the weekly mileage. Got in some active house chores and called that a warm up and post run did a quarter mile easy followed by some drills and carrying a bunch of old carpet to the curb! A massage followed by my PT routine is planned for tonight!
Actual: 8 at 7:00 pace
Nice chilly morning in Euclid and the sidewalks were clear thanks to this unseasonably warm winter. Not sure if it was the trainer ride last night making my turnover high, my excitement to be working out again, or my unusually high (even for me) energy levels, but I just could not keep this at 7:10 this morning (sorry coach!). I just went by feel this morning and didn't really want to pay attention to the watch, I just planned on using average pace for the whole run and starting slow and ending with the right average. Cue running the first mile in 6:58. I looked at the watch every half mile or so and consciously tried to back off the effort and hit 7:10s but each time I did glance back at it I was closer to 6:55 to 7:05. I'm going to enjoy it while I can because I am sure the workouts will get tougher soon and I will have to be more diligent about not exceeding the goal early in the run to ensure I complete the entire workout as intended. But this morning the effort felt pretty casual and I made sure the body wasn't complaining at all and just went with it!
I canned the warm up and cool down run and instead did a more dynamic type effort on both as I didn't want to go over the weekly mileage. Got in some active house chores and called that a warm up and post run did a quarter mile easy followed by some drills and carrying a bunch of old carpet to the curb! A massage followed by my PT routine is planned for tonight!
Tuesday Fartlek Hills and Thursday Mini Tempo
Getting behind on all things blogging here!
Despite the race last week and technically being in taper mode over here I decided to try and get in two more quality workouts if my legs (and foot) were on board.
Tuesday I leaned heavily towards bailing on my planned 12* 90 second hill repeats but in the end decided to go forward with the workout after having warmed up for 5 miles with my lunch group and feeling a boost of energy. I managed to get in all 12 repeats with 90 second rests and wasn't overly worried by the extremely tight state of my calf and foot as I had an ART session following the workout. I had the garmin on but opted not to watch the pace too closely and didn't hit the laps until the end of each 3 minute hard/easy cycle to keep from getting down on myself. Clearly my legs were tired from Sunday still, but I wanted to try and get a little bit of turnover going on the downhills and hoping for one last fitness boost from the hills without doing any damage. Mission achieved.
Yesterday was my last official tempo before the race and I was hoping to do 5 miles at 6:16ish. Went out with the goal of running a steady 5 between 6:15 and 6:25 and hoping for a fast finish if the weather and my legs played nice. I settled for a steady 6:15 and had to work for every ounce of the last mile in 6:19 heading into a 16 mph head/cross wind. I am thinking it was okay to go a little wild, it probably won't build any fitness for the race, but hoping it will help keep me sharp and was another good mental workout running the 5 solo and steady at a decent clip.
6:15.05
6:07.17
6:18.71
6:14.92
6:19.60
Despite the race last week and technically being in taper mode over here I decided to try and get in two more quality workouts if my legs (and foot) were on board.
Tuesday I leaned heavily towards bailing on my planned 12* 90 second hill repeats but in the end decided to go forward with the workout after having warmed up for 5 miles with my lunch group and feeling a boost of energy. I managed to get in all 12 repeats with 90 second rests and wasn't overly worried by the extremely tight state of my calf and foot as I had an ART session following the workout. I had the garmin on but opted not to watch the pace too closely and didn't hit the laps until the end of each 3 minute hard/easy cycle to keep from getting down on myself. Clearly my legs were tired from Sunday still, but I wanted to try and get a little bit of turnover going on the downhills and hoping for one last fitness boost from the hills without doing any damage. Mission achieved.
Yesterday was my last official tempo before the race and I was hoping to do 5 miles at 6:16ish. Went out with the goal of running a steady 5 between 6:15 and 6:25 and hoping for a fast finish if the weather and my legs played nice. I settled for a steady 6:15 and had to work for every ounce of the last mile in 6:19 heading into a 16 mph head/cross wind. I am thinking it was okay to go a little wild, it probably won't build any fitness for the race, but hoping it will help keep me sharp and was another good mental workout running the 5 solo and steady at a decent clip.
6:15.05
6:07.17
6:18.71
6:14.92
6:19.60
Tempo Thursday
This weekend I am "racing" a half with the goal of being somewhere between my half marathon PR and marathon PR pace, and hoping to tack on another 3 hard to get in a 16 mile simulator before Philly. With that on tap I didn't want to do too much damage on today's tempo run. But seeing as time is limited I didn't want to blow off a key quality workout either. I decided I would target a 5 mile even effort tempo with the goal of around 6:30 pace, trying to keep it between 6:20 and 6:40 depending on how I felt. This was the first workout in awhile I felt a bit run down going into it, but surprisingly the first mile felt pretty smooth, but probably went a hair too aggressively as the next two miles were a little slower. Managed to get it back on track the last two miles, and happy to have averaged 6:19 for 5 miles without having to dig too deep to do it. I had a good tune running through my head (random side note I had to laugh at one of Dooce's recent posts where she "blames" Rhianna for injuring her ankle) and although I was again a bit "spacy" today I managed to focus in on the run and lock it in whenever I started slacking off or daydreaming.
I will say I think I prefer the progression tempo to the even effort tempo these days. It's sooo much more fun to hammer the last few miles. But I am sure it is good for me to mix in both types of efforts!
| 06:15.0 |
| 06:24.5 |
| 06:23.4 |
| 06:16.2 |
| 06:16.3 |
I will say I think I prefer the progression tempo to the even effort tempo these days. It's sooo much more fun to hammer the last few miles. But I am sure it is good for me to mix in both types of efforts!
Thursdays Winging It Tempo Run
Still doing my own thang and just running what I can for workouts here. I wanted to get in at least 5 miles at a decent clip today. It was a bit rainy and windy and chilly today but once I got going I felt great. I figured I would target starting around 6:40ish and see what I could get it down to from there by the end depending on wind etc. but really was just going to go based off of effort. I was committed to doing at least 5 at tempo pace and then depending on how I felt either jog back to catch the guys or keep up the tempo pace until I got back to them.
Ended up with just shy of 6, I pansied out when I caught ME and he was running a bit faster than my little legs could handle so we "backed it off" to 6:50ish before a bit of a cool down. Right now I'd rather err on the side of safe than greedy and save the "race" efforts for the races :)
6:32.27
6:28.26
6:26.72
6:10.79
6:03.74
0.75 at 6:06 pace
So 5.75 at 6:19 pace. I'll take it :)
I had Jason Derulo in my head pretty much the entire time and even though I was a total scatter brain today the run felt pretty effortless (it helped that the last 2.5ish miles were with the wind I am sure!). It feels so good to be feeling like myself again! Added bonus the foot (knock on wood) also feels pretty good.
Ended up with just shy of 6, I pansied out when I caught ME and he was running a bit faster than my little legs could handle so we "backed it off" to 6:50ish before a bit of a cool down. Right now I'd rather err on the side of safe than greedy and save the "race" efforts for the races :)
6:32.27
6:28.26
6:26.72
6:10.79
6:03.74
0.75 at 6:06 pace
So 5.75 at 6:19 pace. I'll take it :)
I had Jason Derulo in my head pretty much the entire time and even though I was a total scatter brain today the run felt pretty effortless (it helped that the last 2.5ish miles were with the wind I am sure!). It feels so good to be feeling like myself again! Added bonus the foot (knock on wood) also feels pretty good.
Rust Buster "Tempo"
It was such a nice day today I decided to see what the legs could do with it. I am leaning towards running C'Bus with my buddy Salty for the first 20 miles around 6:50 pace and seeing what I can do from there so I wanted to do a bit of a progression run today. Start out around 6:50s and see if I could pick it up after a few miles of that so that hopefully next Sunday starting at 6:50 feels natural and comfortable!
None of the boys took the bait so I was on my own for this one. I went out at what felt relaxed but up tempo and that worked out to be in the 6:40 range so I went with it. The first two miles felt like they were into a bit of a headwind but on the lake that can be deceiving so I wasn't counting on any boost on the way back. Wimpy E tried to get me to bail early but I just ignored her and went with the effort that third mile knowing it might be slow due to being mostly uphill and thankfully was able to up the effort and pace the last two miles.
It's a start!
None of the boys took the bait so I was on my own for this one. I went out at what felt relaxed but up tempo and that worked out to be in the 6:40 range so I went with it. The first two miles felt like they were into a bit of a headwind but on the lake that can be deceiving so I wasn't counting on any boost on the way back. Wimpy E tried to get me to bail early but I just ignored her and went with the effort that third mile knowing it might be slow due to being mostly uphill and thankfully was able to up the effort and pace the last two miles.
| 06:40.1 |
| 06:44.5 |
| 06:52.0 |
| 06:29.0 |
| 06:17.8 |
It's a start!
Mosquito bites, horseflys, and busted tempos, Oh My.
Hello, my name is Elizabeth, and I frequently run failed tempos.
Now that we got that out of the way ;)
Last nights tempo was another lack luster performance on my part. If I didn't have a history of these bad tempos last fall I suppose I would be worried, but the truth is I just ran arguably my second or 1st best race ever, 10 miles at 6:03 pace, and Tuesday I ran 5*1600 comfortably at 5:52ish pace. Reality is I am a better racer the longer I go, and I am good at grinding out a lot of miles at a moderately fast pace, even if for some reason that doesn't always show up for Thursdays planned attempt to do the same. So showing up last night and failing to be able to get my breathing under control, and feeling like each mile was 5 miles doesn't really have me too concerned, yet.
Last year most of the tempos that I didn't have issues were ones that I pushed back to Friday or ones where I had fallen apart at the track. I think maybe my body just needs a little more time between track and tempo to really feel good, does that mean I can't do the tempo even if I am not fully recovered, no, but it means I need to do a much better job mentally and be prepared for a much tougher effort than I think it should be. In my head last nights tempo with 4 miles at 6:20, 1 at 6:15, and 1 at 6:05 I should feel like am running between half marathon and marathon effort for the first 5 miles and the last mile should feel between 5k and 10k effort. Unfortunately I felt like I was alternating between 5k and mile race pace effort last night and the paces were bad. I typically stop looking at the watch when this happens because clearly seeing bad splits does nothing to boost your ego or to help with the effort. Despite ignoring the watch and changing over to effort I had to come to a complete stop several times last night just to get my breathing and heart rate under control.
Then starts the internal battle. Am I being stubborn? Should I quit and do this tomorrow? Is it better to get in 6 slower tempo miles now and move on or would it be better to back it off, recover another day and try again this weekend?
I go into each of these workouts assuming I will get it done. And when I start to really struggle I am always caught off guard despite this being a relatively common occurrence for me. I don't like to plan for failure so I don't go into the workout with a set plan for what to do if I just can't do the planned workout. Maybe I should change that strategy...
I do need to figure out some sort of back up plan for nights like last night where I am just killing myself but can't hit the pace. I seem to be really affected by terrain on my tempo runs, whether that is because I am still not fully recovered from Tuesdays track efforts, or if mentally I only have so much wherewithal for the week I am not sure. So I think the next few tempos I will be hitting the track, I can take out all the outside variables then and even take the Garmin out of the equation. I'm hoping having a flat surface with no worries about trusting the watch might be enough to keep the tempos on Thursday and hit the paces without issue.
We'll see!
6:23.27
6:16.78
6:35.65
6:36.24 (2 stops to catch my breath/regroup)
6:41.61 (one water stop)
6:23.75 (one regroup stop and one water stop)
(Time from stops not included in the mile splits, sadly!)
Staying positive. I had a great time with my running pals after the workout last night and on the way home was belting along with FF (who we are seeing in a month!!!). I am so grateful for my rocking speedy body and all the fast miles it has given to me this year.
"Getting good at starting over, Every time that I return, I'm learning to walk again, I believe I've waited long enough, where do I begin?"
Now that we got that out of the way ;)
Last nights tempo was another lack luster performance on my part. If I didn't have a history of these bad tempos last fall I suppose I would be worried, but the truth is I just ran arguably my second or 1st best race ever, 10 miles at 6:03 pace, and Tuesday I ran 5*1600 comfortably at 5:52ish pace. Reality is I am a better racer the longer I go, and I am good at grinding out a lot of miles at a moderately fast pace, even if for some reason that doesn't always show up for Thursdays planned attempt to do the same. So showing up last night and failing to be able to get my breathing under control, and feeling like each mile was 5 miles doesn't really have me too concerned, yet.
Last year most of the tempos that I didn't have issues were ones that I pushed back to Friday or ones where I had fallen apart at the track. I think maybe my body just needs a little more time between track and tempo to really feel good, does that mean I can't do the tempo even if I am not fully recovered, no, but it means I need to do a much better job mentally and be prepared for a much tougher effort than I think it should be. In my head last nights tempo with 4 miles at 6:20, 1 at 6:15, and 1 at 6:05 I should feel like am running between half marathon and marathon effort for the first 5 miles and the last mile should feel between 5k and 10k effort. Unfortunately I felt like I was alternating between 5k and mile race pace effort last night and the paces were bad. I typically stop looking at the watch when this happens because clearly seeing bad splits does nothing to boost your ego or to help with the effort. Despite ignoring the watch and changing over to effort I had to come to a complete stop several times last night just to get my breathing and heart rate under control.
Then starts the internal battle. Am I being stubborn? Should I quit and do this tomorrow? Is it better to get in 6 slower tempo miles now and move on or would it be better to back it off, recover another day and try again this weekend?
I go into each of these workouts assuming I will get it done. And when I start to really struggle I am always caught off guard despite this being a relatively common occurrence for me. I don't like to plan for failure so I don't go into the workout with a set plan for what to do if I just can't do the planned workout. Maybe I should change that strategy...
I do need to figure out some sort of back up plan for nights like last night where I am just killing myself but can't hit the pace. I seem to be really affected by terrain on my tempo runs, whether that is because I am still not fully recovered from Tuesdays track efforts, or if mentally I only have so much wherewithal for the week I am not sure. So I think the next few tempos I will be hitting the track, I can take out all the outside variables then and even take the Garmin out of the equation. I'm hoping having a flat surface with no worries about trusting the watch might be enough to keep the tempos on Thursday and hit the paces without issue.
We'll see!
6:23.27
6:16.78
6:35.65
6:36.24 (2 stops to catch my breath/regroup)
6:41.61 (one water stop)
6:23.75 (one regroup stop and one water stop)
(Time from stops not included in the mile splits, sadly!)
Staying positive. I had a great time with my running pals after the workout last night and on the way home was belting along with FF (who we are seeing in a month!!!). I am so grateful for my rocking speedy body and all the fast miles it has given to me this year.
"Getting good at starting over, Every time that I return, I'm learning to walk again, I believe I've waited long enough, where do I begin?"
Longer Slower Tempo Night
With the time trial on Tuesday and Perfect 10 coming up on Sunday this weeks tempo was a little slower, but a little longer. Goal was 7 miles at 6:35 pace. A work meeting at lunch thwarted my plans to get the tempo done at lunch and double in the evening. The weather took a nose dive in temps this week so a lunch run actually would have been pleasant for once. Alas that didn't work out so I met up with Salty at North Chagrin and we ran the roads for our tempo. Course is rolling, and there is a lot of traffic so I was conscious of keeping aware and alert.
I decided to reset the watch this week and just focus on average pace rather than each individual mile. This worked out pretty well though with the rollers it was a bit tougher to nail things. Somewhere in the middle of mile 6 I saw the average pace had slowed from 6:32 to 6:36 and I overcompensated a bit that last mile and ended up with 7 at 6:31 for the night. (6:35,6:26,6:40,6:33,6:30,6:40,6:16)
My whole left side just felt "off" almost like the glute/hamstring/quad weren't engaging. Definitely a weird feeling. It wasn't like I was dragging the leg, but it definitely didn't feel like it had that normal bounce back after each step. Hoping the massage tonight will loosen everything up and it will feel normal for Sunday. It felt better on the cool down and this mornings super slow jog. The left foot was pretty pissy for 2 or so miles before finally loosening up. My stomach was threatening to rebel but thankfully waited until after the tempo miles were over.
Despite that got in a long cool down to get in the 16 miles for the day and got to see some buddies out racing the Twilight Trail 8k.
I decided to reset the watch this week and just focus on average pace rather than each individual mile. This worked out pretty well though with the rollers it was a bit tougher to nail things. Somewhere in the middle of mile 6 I saw the average pace had slowed from 6:32 to 6:36 and I overcompensated a bit that last mile and ended up with 7 at 6:31 for the night. (6:35,6:26,6:40,6:33,6:30,6:40,6:16)
My whole left side just felt "off" almost like the glute/hamstring/quad weren't engaging. Definitely a weird feeling. It wasn't like I was dragging the leg, but it definitely didn't feel like it had that normal bounce back after each step. Hoping the massage tonight will loosen everything up and it will feel normal for Sunday. It felt better on the cool down and this mornings super slow jog. The left foot was pretty pissy for 2 or so miles before finally loosening up. My stomach was threatening to rebel but thankfully waited until after the tempo miles were over.
Despite that got in a long cool down to get in the 16 miles for the day and got to see some buddies out racing the Twilight Trail 8k.
Log it and forget about it tempo
One of these days I will learn to go out on pace or slower in a tempo. Duh it feels good to go fast in the early miles, but you have 6 miles total, not 3 :) Like I said, one of these days I will learn. Today was not that day.
Goal 6 at 6:15. NC had 6 at 6:10 so I decided I would just stay with her if I could. Seemed reasonable at the time...
6:11
6:09
6:11...and then things went south
6:26 and I was fighting for it. I let the watch get the better of me and I decided to take a two minute walk break to catch my breath and settle the heart rate after this one.
Started back up and just ran tempo effort the last two miles without looking at the watch. It felt like the two longest miles of my life. (Where the Hell did these hills come from? I don't remember it being that up and down at the start?)
Alas post workout revealed that I had fallen way off finishing out the last two in 6:35 and 6:38. Ouch!
Oh well. It is hot and humid around here, track workout Tuesday was hard and I neglected to have my usual endurox after. And yesterdays run was extremely sweaty. I'm chalking it up to dehydration combined with being a little too aggressive early in the run and lacking the metal tenacity to fight through when it got tough tonight.
Moving on!
Goal 6 at 6:15. NC had 6 at 6:10 so I decided I would just stay with her if I could. Seemed reasonable at the time...
6:11
6:09
6:11...and then things went south
6:26 and I was fighting for it. I let the watch get the better of me and I decided to take a two minute walk break to catch my breath and settle the heart rate after this one.
Started back up and just ran tempo effort the last two miles without looking at the watch. It felt like the two longest miles of my life. (Where the Hell did these hills come from? I don't remember it being that up and down at the start?)
Alas post workout revealed that I had fallen way off finishing out the last two in 6:35 and 6:38. Ouch!
Oh well. It is hot and humid around here, track workout Tuesday was hard and I neglected to have my usual endurox after. And yesterdays run was extremely sweaty. I'm chalking it up to dehydration combined with being a little too aggressive early in the run and lacking the metal tenacity to fight through when it got tough tonight.
Moving on!
Grouchy Tempo
I got my replacement Garmin Wednesday in the mail. Charged her up and let her load sattelites Thursday morning while we cheered on the masters 5k women at the USATF masters track championship at Baldwin Wallace in a torrential rain storm. Our friend Barb ran an amazing 5k placing first in her age group (60-65) and running 30 seconds faster than her lifetime personal best. She ran 20:37.54. Of note I only ran faster than that time twice while in high school and thought I was pretty hot stuff. Barb is amazing and just so inspiring! I can't imagine how fast she would have been if women's distance running had been the standard when she was in high school and college. Barb hates running in the rain so for her to do so well in conditions she really hates was really impressive, though not unexpected, Barb never ceases to amaze!
With all that track action you would think I would have been fired up for my tempo. I took the morning off work to go watch Barb race and get the tempo in with NC and Salty. I had a new Garmin I could (hopefully) trust to work and not go all crazy on me. What could be better right?
Well unfortunately my legs just felt like tree trunks, and when we started into the tempo I glanced at the watch early fully expecting it to say I was going too fast only to see a pace 30 seconds slower than the goal. Uggh! So I upped the effort and got it down to target range, but man it just didn't feel smooth. Not sure if it was the new locale, the humidity, or just my lack of mental fortitude, but I was not feeling it yesterday. I forced the first two miles to get them in range running ahead of NC and Salty and then just basically had an internal war with myself the next four miles to keep going clinging close to NC.
I hit the paces, but it just wasn't much fun. Oh well. Next time I will come to the workout with a better attitude and remember to keep it light and motivational, rather than a grouchy negative berate myself atmosphere. Good news is despite not feeling it and being a big grouch I still got the workout done. Much better than in the past where I would have thrown in the towel when feeling so sluggish.
Goal was 6 @ 6:25 and I think subconsciously I just really want to be at a better place right now. I want yesterdays effort to be resulting in 6 to 6:05 pace, and reality is it just isn't there yet. But hopefully a little more patience and it will be soon!
6:27.67
6:23.19
6:22.04
6:18.63
6:17.51
6:16.87
With all that track action you would think I would have been fired up for my tempo. I took the morning off work to go watch Barb race and get the tempo in with NC and Salty. I had a new Garmin I could (hopefully) trust to work and not go all crazy on me. What could be better right?
Well unfortunately my legs just felt like tree trunks, and when we started into the tempo I glanced at the watch early fully expecting it to say I was going too fast only to see a pace 30 seconds slower than the goal. Uggh! So I upped the effort and got it down to target range, but man it just didn't feel smooth. Not sure if it was the new locale, the humidity, or just my lack of mental fortitude, but I was not feeling it yesterday. I forced the first two miles to get them in range running ahead of NC and Salty and then just basically had an internal war with myself the next four miles to keep going clinging close to NC.
I hit the paces, but it just wasn't much fun. Oh well. Next time I will come to the workout with a better attitude and remember to keep it light and motivational, rather than a grouchy negative berate myself atmosphere. Good news is despite not feeling it and being a big grouch I still got the workout done. Much better than in the past where I would have thrown in the towel when feeling so sluggish.
Goal was 6 @ 6:25 and I think subconsciously I just really want to be at a better place right now. I want yesterdays effort to be resulting in 6 to 6:05 pace, and reality is it just isn't there yet. But hopefully a little more patience and it will be soon!
6:27.67
6:23.19
6:22.04
6:18.63
6:17.51
6:16.87
Generous Garmin Tempo
Met up with Salty for last nights tempo. Since we are racing Sunday the pace was a bit slower this week. Just 6 at 6:30. I wasn't feeling particularly perky, but knew it would get done one way or another :)
Though I was a bit worried about my right knee. I did something to it Wednesday, but it seemed to loosen up for the run, and just a bit tender so far today. I changed a flat Wednesday night and think that jumping up and down on the lug wrench may have tweaked it. That or the single leg squats I did Tuesday night overloaded the quad a bit...regardless it was fine during the tempo. Though my right ankle had some issues. It felt like perhaps a minor sprain or like it was out of alignment, but by focusing in on my footstrike I was able to make the pain go away after a half mile or so. I've run more trails the past week than I have been and some of the Jay Johnson exercises definitely require balance so I think it may just be a little tender still from the tendonitis. That and I may have turned it a bit on the warm up. So keeping an eye on both the knee and ankle in addition to my left foot plantar fasciitis and slightly still tweaked left hamstring. What I wouldn't give to be 100%, but glad that for the most part everything seems good given I am finally getting back up to mileage and quality. Just need to be careful not to overdo it in my excitement.
Last week my garmin decided it would be the "slow" one for the first few miles, but this week it was back to feeling generous, and Salty's would go off 3.5 seconds after mine each mile. Not a real big deal, but a bit annoying as by 6 miles that's another 23 seconds. Not such a big deal on a workout (Though I am thinking it might not be a bad idea to create a few set tempo courses soon with marked miles and rely less on the garmin and more on feel.), but in a race I would be pretty miffed if I thought I was 23 seconds faster than I really was :) Either way 6 miles somewhere between 6:24 and 6:28 average with two quick stops in the 4th mile for water and a shoelace. Much better than how I was feeling last year at this point.
Hoping the knee and ankle feel good after tomorrows easy run as I am really looking forward to racing Sunday!
Though I was a bit worried about my right knee. I did something to it Wednesday, but it seemed to loosen up for the run, and just a bit tender so far today. I changed a flat Wednesday night and think that jumping up and down on the lug wrench may have tweaked it. That or the single leg squats I did Tuesday night overloaded the quad a bit...regardless it was fine during the tempo. Though my right ankle had some issues. It felt like perhaps a minor sprain or like it was out of alignment, but by focusing in on my footstrike I was able to make the pain go away after a half mile or so. I've run more trails the past week than I have been and some of the Jay Johnson exercises definitely require balance so I think it may just be a little tender still from the tendonitis. That and I may have turned it a bit on the warm up. So keeping an eye on both the knee and ankle in addition to my left foot plantar fasciitis and slightly still tweaked left hamstring. What I wouldn't give to be 100%, but glad that for the most part everything seems good given I am finally getting back up to mileage and quality. Just need to be careful not to overdo it in my excitement.
Last week my garmin decided it would be the "slow" one for the first few miles, but this week it was back to feeling generous, and Salty's would go off 3.5 seconds after mine each mile. Not a real big deal, but a bit annoying as by 6 miles that's another 23 seconds. Not such a big deal on a workout (Though I am thinking it might not be a bad idea to create a few set tempo courses soon with marked miles and rely less on the garmin and more on feel.), but in a race I would be pretty miffed if I thought I was 23 seconds faster than I really was :) Either way 6 miles somewhere between 6:24 and 6:28 average with two quick stops in the 4th mile for water and a shoelace. Much better than how I was feeling last year at this point.
Hoping the knee and ankle feel good after tomorrows easy run as I am really looking forward to racing Sunday!
Let's try that again Tempo
Sometimes I don't always go about things in the smartest way :) I took Monday off this week because I was home visiting family, we were having fun, and I assumed mileage would be 65-70 or at least the option of 70-75 this week and that I could easily get that in with one double while taking a rest day Monday. Wake up Tuesday morning to find out it is 75 for the week. Oops! So that leaves me with some mileage to squeak into the schedule this week and I decided I would add a mile or two extra to the track and tempo days and do doubles Wednesday and Thursday since I run early AM I could get in some easy evening miles without staying up too too late.
It has been a bit of a struggle doing the Tuesday track night workouts and getting downtown by 6:30 am for my morning easy miles. I barely get in 7-8 hours of sleep and I am pretty groggy and still pretty toasted from the track effort. I thought an easy evening run would be all right, and it felt pretty good to get out for some easy trail miles. But I think it was just a bit too much to expect to be able to recover from a hard Tuesday evening session, double on Wednesday, and be up and ready for a tempo effort by 6 am this morning. (Which is a bit of a bummer because I was kind of hoping to start doing easy trail runs Wednesday nights when mileage gets higher, might have to switch that to Thursdays post tempo if I want to continue with morning tempos)
I struggled on the warm up and just could not keep up on the first two tempo miles this morning. Goal was 6 miles with the 3rd and 6th mile at 6:15 and the rest at 6:20. After a 6:21 and a 6:27 followed by .25 miles at over 6:30 I bagged it. For whatever reason it just wasn't happening this morning. My legs didn't feel bad, I just didn't have any power, and no mental prowess to power through. I knew Salty and NC were tempo-ing this evening so I asked coach if I should just bag it or if I should try again. I needed to get in more miles anyways and he agreed I should try again.
Apparently I needed to be relaxed, but not quite as relaxed as I was this morning to get things done. I think I have been a little nonchalant about these tempos lately because in my head the paces aren't that fast, but the truth is they are still hard and I should know better. After a hard track effort Tuesday I should have known I needed to gear up properly for this workout rather than thinking I could skate through.
Throughout the day I reminded myself that I wanted to do the workout well, and though it wasn't the end of the world if my body said no, I knew my body could do better if I provided it with the proper tools to get it done. Pandora aptly played one of my favorite jazzy tunes "I'm Feeling Good" as performed by Michael Buble, and it reminded me that for the most part I have been feeling pretty good lately so I should just suck it up and get it done tonight :)
So I did my best to rally by eating better today and focusing on getting in more calories and hydration. Took two salt pills to make sure my electrolytes were up, took a quick cold shower to freshen up the legs, put up the legs for a few minutes and did some relaxation breathing and visualized a successful tempo. Worked up a mantra for the run of "I achieve when I believe," put on my fast twitch shoes instead of my clunkers I wore this morning, took a roctane gu for a little caffeine boost before starting our warm up, and listened to some pump me up music before getting started.
Armed with my mental soundtrack of my mantra for the first three miles mixed in with Rhianna's Breakin' Dishes the last three miles, and joined by my trusty sidekicks NC and Salty I managed to get the workout done tonight, and felt worlds better than this morning. Still can't keep up with NC, but I hit the goal paces, and really felt pretty smooth other than the last mile. Not sure where that fourth mile came from, I was relaxed but it just wanted to be a fast one I guess :)
6:17
6:21
6:13
6:10
6:17
6:04
It has been a bit of a struggle doing the Tuesday track night workouts and getting downtown by 6:30 am for my morning easy miles. I barely get in 7-8 hours of sleep and I am pretty groggy and still pretty toasted from the track effort. I thought an easy evening run would be all right, and it felt pretty good to get out for some easy trail miles. But I think it was just a bit too much to expect to be able to recover from a hard Tuesday evening session, double on Wednesday, and be up and ready for a tempo effort by 6 am this morning. (Which is a bit of a bummer because I was kind of hoping to start doing easy trail runs Wednesday nights when mileage gets higher, might have to switch that to Thursdays post tempo if I want to continue with morning tempos)
I struggled on the warm up and just could not keep up on the first two tempo miles this morning. Goal was 6 miles with the 3rd and 6th mile at 6:15 and the rest at 6:20. After a 6:21 and a 6:27 followed by .25 miles at over 6:30 I bagged it. For whatever reason it just wasn't happening this morning. My legs didn't feel bad, I just didn't have any power, and no mental prowess to power through. I knew Salty and NC were tempo-ing this evening so I asked coach if I should just bag it or if I should try again. I needed to get in more miles anyways and he agreed I should try again.
Apparently I needed to be relaxed, but not quite as relaxed as I was this morning to get things done. I think I have been a little nonchalant about these tempos lately because in my head the paces aren't that fast, but the truth is they are still hard and I should know better. After a hard track effort Tuesday I should have known I needed to gear up properly for this workout rather than thinking I could skate through.
Throughout the day I reminded myself that I wanted to do the workout well, and though it wasn't the end of the world if my body said no, I knew my body could do better if I provided it with the proper tools to get it done. Pandora aptly played one of my favorite jazzy tunes "I'm Feeling Good" as performed by Michael Buble, and it reminded me that for the most part I have been feeling pretty good lately so I should just suck it up and get it done tonight :)
So I did my best to rally by eating better today and focusing on getting in more calories and hydration. Took two salt pills to make sure my electrolytes were up, took a quick cold shower to freshen up the legs, put up the legs for a few minutes and did some relaxation breathing and visualized a successful tempo. Worked up a mantra for the run of "I achieve when I believe," put on my fast twitch shoes instead of my clunkers I wore this morning, took a roctane gu for a little caffeine boost before starting our warm up, and listened to some pump me up music before getting started.
Armed with my mental soundtrack of my mantra for the first three miles mixed in with Rhianna's Breakin' Dishes the last three miles, and joined by my trusty sidekicks NC and Salty I managed to get the workout done tonight, and felt worlds better than this morning. Still can't keep up with NC, but I hit the goal paces, and really felt pretty smooth other than the last mile. Not sure where that fourth mile came from, I was relaxed but it just wanted to be a fast one I guess :)
6:17
6:21
6:13
6:10
6:17
6:04
Two'Fer Tempo
Still grooving to Young the Giant this week thanks to my library loaner. Not sure if it's been the mellow CD, added sunshine, or the awesome weekend with friends, but I have been in a better mood this week than I have been in awhile (despite a rather frustrating Monday). A few months ago I would have been pretty frustrated with my current fitness, but I am really just grateful to be training pain free and keeping up hopes that I will see a bounce back to my previous fitness and beyond soon.
This mornings tempo went well. No speed records, but it was solid and I was relaxed the whole way despite having to micromanage the pace too much. Not sure if it was the garmin, me, or the crosswinds but the garmin pace was very unsteady the first 4 miles. But all miles ended faster than the target and I just ran as fast as I could the last mile so I could stop looking at the watch.
Goal was 5*6:25 and 1*6:15.
A few of the Young the Giant tunes made their mental tempo debut this morning. But this one has a cool video :)
6:22.46
6:20.87
6:22.70
6:23.72
6:20.10
5:57.05
Started out with Christina and despite a questionable stomach and swallowing a bug I had no further problems during the run other than probably working a bit too hard mentally fighting the garmin. Left hamstring and left foot aren't 100% but they do seem to be improving and aren't holding me back at all which is great. The right ankle has not posed any problems since about two weeks after the dance injury incident thank goodness!
This mornings tempo went well. No speed records, but it was solid and I was relaxed the whole way despite having to micromanage the pace too much. Not sure if it was the garmin, me, or the crosswinds but the garmin pace was very unsteady the first 4 miles. But all miles ended faster than the target and I just ran as fast as I could the last mile so I could stop looking at the watch.
Goal was 5*6:25 and 1*6:15.
A few of the Young the Giant tunes made their mental tempo debut this morning. But this one has a cool video :)
6:22.46
6:20.87
6:22.70
6:23.72
6:20.10
5:57.05
Started out with Christina and despite a questionable stomach and swallowing a bug I had no further problems during the run other than probably working a bit too hard mentally fighting the garmin. Left hamstring and left foot aren't 100% but they do seem to be improving and aren't holding me back at all which is great. The right ankle has not posed any problems since about two weeks after the dance injury incident thank goodness!
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