Tempo run 7-28-10

Todays run comprised of a 1 mile warm up jog, 4 miles at tempo pace of 10:51 and a mile cool down jog. I can do a 10:51 fairly easily, the challenge comes in maintaining for that long of a span.

I got up around 6 am and discovered that I had forgotten to charge my mp3 player. I knew that long of a run without music would drag on and on, so I decided to charge it while I got ready to go, figuring some is better than none. It lasted til almost mile 5 -- so that was good!

Starting myself out, I kept having to slow myself down during the warm up. I ended up with 11:42 for the warm up. I knew i had many miles to go yet! Again, I had forgotten to set a pace alert for my garmin, so it was a bit more challenging to keep an even keel. The 2nd mile was in a 10:50 pace. It felt pretty good, not too hard, heart rate stayed fairly low. Although at this point, Im realizing in in for a long haul! My main focus was on staying below the 10:51 pace marker, if I was running 9:45, then so be it, but as long as i was under.

The 3rd mile felt the best. I really found my stride and was able to just run mostly without worrying so much about my pace. No real aches or pains at this point, just running. Dont get me wrong, this was definitely a "work" run but at times it felt good to just get out and run fast. I did that segment in 10:33.

The 4th mile wasnt without its challenges. My side started twinging -- with some concentrated deep breaths, I was able to keep the major sideache at bay. I was feeling a bit nauseous from the smells and running hard -- so I ended up stopping once cause I thought I was going to be sick. Another stop to tie the shoe. Just generally harder mile. I still managed to pull out a 10:59 pace for that segment though.

The fifth mile felt more challenging as well since I was starting to get tired. I didnt get to bed before 11 and 6 am rolled around far too quickly this morning. I knew though I wanted to finish strong, so I pushed myself a little harder. My side is still twinging a bit, so more deep breathing. Somewhere in this mile, the mp3 player dies. After that, the run seemed to go much slower. Probably due to the fact, I was concentrating on the distance! I decided i wanted to sprint the last tenth and pushed it into gear. I finished that mile in 10:28!!!

The last mile was hard. I was sore, tired and my mp3 player was dead. So the mile dragged on and on and on and on. At times I convinced myself to run faster -- not because I wanted the better time -- it was because I would be done sooner. I tried to speed up the last tenth but I had little energy for a full on sprint. I did get my time up to 10:40 but I couldnt push any harder than that. I finished that mile in 11:41.

Surpringly enough, I feel great now. My muscles arent sore at all. After some of my long runs, they have been really sore. So I expected that maybe this run would do it as well. The only thing bugging me is my sunburn from monday!

Im getting really excited for our race next weekend! Im still pondering how I should run it. It was far simpler when I didnt know as much and just ran. Now I wonder if I should do a negative split, or run the first mile slightly faster or run an even pace. Way too much info to wade thru on the topic.

Weight check will be early this week, due to leaving to visit family on Friday morning. The scale is being kinder to me today but time will tell on that front.

Keep on running,
Mrs. F

Weekend recap - Mrs. F

I ran 7 miles yesterday with my friend, Amy. She started couch to 5k at the same time we did, and has kept up running. She actually runs faster than me but runs close enough to my pace, that we can do our slower longer runs together.

We started off with the warm up walk before running. It was a nice change of pace to have someone to talk with along the way. Yes, we ran at a pace that we could talk. I will admit at times, it was more challenging than others though. The first 3.5 miles for me were harder, as is typical. Amy was a few steps ahead of me and it wasnt as hard for her, breathing wise as it was for me.

I found my stride around 3.5 miles and soon enough I was the one running a few steps ahead. I find that the further I go, the easier it seems to find that stride point. Perhaps I am meant to be a distance runner!

My strategy on these longer runs, is to go with the flow of my body, while keeping my heartrate in check. Basically, if I feel like running slower( as long as im not going over my prescribed training pace), then I do. If I feel like pushing it up a few notches, then I do that as well. My heart rate stayed pretty low, in the 150 range, so it works for me. My pace for this run was supposed to be 12:31, for my friend, 12:00. We ended up hitting an 11:44 pace, so below both of our targets!

Im really looking forward to next saturdays run when I get to try running 8 miles. Its exciting since it will be a new distance record for me. On top of that fun, I get to run in a new location, as we will be out of town visiting Mr. F's family.

Today, I took a 15.11 mile bike ride at 4:31 pace. Thats not only a new distance record for me but a pace record as well. It felt good to get out and fly on the bike. Ive now built up enough endurance on the bike, that Im starting to burn a good bit of calories. Last summer, I was much slower and didnt go nearly so far. I was shocked though when I took a look at my biking stats. I biked 41 miles this week alone and 75 miles for the month of july! Wow -- I had no idea that put on that many this week! The long bike rides add up quickly. Thanks go out to Mr. F though for sharing his bike with me! Im hoping to start saving up for a new bike for me soon.

Well thats all for now folks, Keep on running and biking!

Mrs. F