They Can't All Be Good...

Not a great run today. The plan called for 3 miles of tempo sandwiched around 3 miles of warm-up cool-down. As mentioned yesterday, I was hopeful to do them faster - 6:45-6:55 pace. Instead, the splits were 7:28, 7:17 and 7:40. Let's the excuses begin:

1) A storm was coming and in fact hit me just when the fast stuff ended... but most of the fast stuff included 20mph head and cross winds.

2) Hills. Not big ones. But not small ones, either.

3) Fatigue. Still feeling Wednesday's 1000's. Also, this week's introduction of cross training means I have 1 rest day per week, instead of two.

4) Wimpishness -- My HR for the 3 tempos was 156, 159 and 159... I really should be pushing 160-162's on those.

All of that being said, I'm still confused to know what tempo pace I should be using... Some books suggest tempo should be your Anaerobic Threshold, which should be in the 6:45-6:55 range, while others suggest it should be closer to 1/2 Marathon pace (7:15-20 for me)... Either way, this workout was too slow.. and I do know the tempos are vital to my success.

Making a small modification to the plan. The next two long runs have me beginning 45 seconds slower than marathon pace and working down to marathon pace throughout the runs. Two things bother me about this:

1.) I'm a bit too sore to think I can do this well. Maybe next weekend, but definitely not this weekend.
2.) With 15 weeks to go until Harrisburg, this type of pace work seems to be a bit early to generate benefits (though I've read a lot about how vital these workouts are in the final 10 weeks of training.).

Also, after spoiling myself on the trails for a few weeks, this past week has been all highway miles, and I'm eager to go to the park on Sunday, which means things will inevitably be slower. Still, I think it's a smart move. I want to stay proactive with my plan, making sure I don't get hurt or burned out. I think a long run without pushing the pace will do a lot to get me ready for next week. And if I'm feeling really spunky on the last 4 miles, maybe I'll let it all go a bit more...

The best news? Tomorrow is the first day in 3 weeks I can sleep in, which I think will do a lot to help me recover. :)

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