First tempo run of the Break-1:30 Training Program… yay?
Early class today, so I had to run out the door and get to the YMCA for my workout as quickly as possible. I must admit, I love running in the morning even though I’m not a morning person (just ask Stacy!). It really starts my day on a great note.
Plus, there isn’t much traffic on the track at 7:00 am… bonus! Since today was my first tempo run, I took a pre-workout gel on the drive in to the gym. The GU du jour was Chocolate Outrage, a personal favorite since it tastes like chocolate frosting. Yum.
Today’s workout was a 6mi tempo run as: 1mi easy pace (8:00/mi) -> 4mi tempo (6:45/mi) -> 1mi easy (8:00/mi).
Of course, no problems on the first easy mile. Dialed into the 8:00/mi pace and cruised through the laps. Then came the tempo pace, and that got rough. I needed to be hitting 6:45/mi, but each time I looked at the Garmin I was between 6:51 – 6:57/mi. Just a bit too slow, and consistently so during the run.
The last tempo mile started to build an ache in both my hamstrings & quads. I suppose that is a sign I am running appropriately fast, so I’ll take it as a positive for now. So long as it remains an ache and not a pain, I’m just returning from a three month injury and have no desire to be sidelined again.
The final, easy mile was hard to find my pace. My legs wanted to just drop down to a light jog since I let off the gas. I had to really concentrate to find that 8:00/mi pace again.
All in all, not a bad training day. I wasn’t too far off the tempo pace and could probably hit it better as I regain the ability to feel out a pace. I’m going to need to change up the training program a bit for the remainder of the week, as I have a major law review commitment all day tomorrow and can’t risk being late. So I think the weekly long run will get shifted to Saturday.
On the really good news side, when I got home there was an email waiting from Garmin saying that they are shipping me a new HRM! One week-ish until I can track my heart rate again, hooray!
