Finally Feeling the Tempo

It was almost a cruel joke. Gilber threw in another 4-mile tempo run a mere three weeks after the last one. Usually, he waits at least a month. Oh well...I knew it was coming and I still showed up. Attending the workouts are, after all, still a choice I make every morning. Today, I chose to run.

My last Tempo outing was a little slower than I had hoped for: 29:08 for 4.13 miles

The morning started with a 1 mile warmup jog, followed by our usual drill set. It was still dark as we were getting ready to begin. Luckily, I know the trail by heart so the darkness didn't bother me. It actually serves as a shield for the distance being covered. Before the run, I downed some E-crank gel with water. It's a new one for me so I thought I'd try it. It didn't seem to bother my stomach, but it is a little larger than most gel packs so I didn't take all of it.

We lined up today and with the very thin crowd that showed up, I found myself near the front with the superfast people that I would only see before Gilbert said, "Go." Lisa, Mike and others were off and I was not far behind with Ann. Our first mile was about a 6:55. A little too fast, so I slowed it down slightly for Mile 2. At the turnaround point, the mile beeped and it was a 7:08. Gilbert wanted a negative split. He also said that on the way back we should FEEL like we want to run faster...oops... Unfortunately, the Garmin went a little nutty for the last two miles so my splits are not correct. One mile said I did a 6:11 pace and that's obviously incorrect because I'm alive to type about it.

I didn't really start getting exhausted until the last mile, but I was able to hang on although I knew I didn't have much left. The tempo run is one of discipline and patience. I still haven't really mastered it. I need to go out slower so that I've got energy to spare. I'm not complaining and I'm definitely happy with the improvement, although it's still not a PR.

BUT (drum roll please), I ended with a 28:19--almost 1 min faster than last time!! My Garmin measured long again at 4.13, but I think it's incorrect. If that's true, it would put me at a 6:51 pace per mile and that's a little aggressive. I'm guessing I avergaed about 7min miles when all was said and done!

Good confidence builder...