For some reason I stayed in the office until a little after 7 today. This only served to make me feel less like running as the afternoon evolved to evening. The plan was to run at Memorial Park. The 5 mile tempo run with mile warm up and cool down could be better controlled on the 3-mile loop. In the event a breakdown occurred, the walk would be shorter and hopefully the trail is a bit softer than pavement. As a side note, last Saturday it seemed the trail at Memorial Park had been filled in with new sand/crushed rock in some places.
The run got under way a little after 7:30. The temperature was a cool 57 but the real shocker was the humidity at 27%. The park was busy with people winding down their activities for the evening.
The tempo run was scheduled for 7:33/mile pace. I warmed up by going over to the tennis courts and back. During the 8:51/mile warm up, it felt like 7:33 was going to be a stretch tonight. I figured I'd just go out at that pace and hold it as long as I could. If the run deteriorated as it progressed so be it.
I decided that I'd only check the Garmin each quarter mile. That way I wouldn't be constantly "messing with the watch". If I was slow, I'd pick it up and vica versa. For the first mile, I started fast and stayed fast. The second felt pretty good too but a slowed a bit in an effort to save some for the later miles. The third mile was the toughest. Somewhere near the end of the mile, I found myself having to make that decision for whether I was going to stay on track or let this one get away from me. Oddly, for some reason tonight this crossroad almost seemed like it does during a race for me. I usually have these moments during races and oftentimes have them during challenging workouts ... although during workouts they aren't as seemingly dramatic as in races. It just comes down to a "so what's it going to be" moment. Tonight I pushed though and once on the other side, it felt better. I used other runners along the trail as targets over the last two miles. Whoever was up ahead was my next "victim". How fast could I reel them in? This little mental game helped me hold the pace. At the beginning of the final mile, I think I passed a guy who didn't appreciate being passed. I noticed that he picked up the pace and stayed with me for about 300 yards. I liked this push. I was determined to hold my pace. If he could maintain or go faster, more power to him. Slowly but steadily, his foot strikes became quieter and quieter as I stretch the gap between us until he was gone. I appreciate him for helping me finish my run stronger than I probably would have otherwise.
1 mile warm up
5 mile tempo (7:29/mile pace)
7:24
7:33
7:35
7:25
7:28
1 mile cool down
I wish my mile splits were a bit tighter but am satisfied that the run was a success.
I've intentionally not mentioned my knee. If there is a mental "injury cycle", I've now stepped into the all-out denial phase. I'm also having those questions about mental toughness and pain threshold that occasionally dance around in my head.
Stephanie has the group scheduled for 20 miles Saturday morning. I need 17 and plan to join them.
On the heals of tonight's workout, I'm looking forward to next Thursday's 5-mile race. It's a new distance so it is guaranteed to be a PR!
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