Tempo Terrific

Last night was the first night of training for the Wisconsin Half Marathon on May 1st. What was on the schedule?

A tempo run!

Now, those of you that have been around for awhile may remember last year's hatred of the tempo run. Oh man, how I dreaded those nights at the beginning. I had many more failed tempo runs than successful ones both times I've trained for a half marathon.

But, with my new outlook on February (i.e. I'm going to kick butt), my hopes for a PR in this next race, and my super-speedy running group, I decided that tempo runs will be fun this time around.

I met up with the Monday night group at our usual time and place. As always, everyone practically sprinted out of the gate. I didn't even try to keep up with anyone for the first mile. I took my time warming up but did manage to keep the slightly less fast group in my sights. The goal for last night? 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles at 9:07 pace, 1.5 mile cool-down.

The problem with trying to do a tempo run in the dark is that I really had no idea what my pace was unless I managed to catch a glimpse of the Garmin while passing under a streetlight. I knew, though, that if I kept up with the slightly less fast group I would be running close to a 9:00 minute per mile pace. I figured that would work for me. So, after my first warm-up mile I made it my goal to catch up with the four people running ahead of me.

I never quite caught up, but just before mile 2.75 I noticed that one of that group was running back towards me.

"Erin!" She called. "I have to go to the bathroom! If I run up to the KFC will you wait for me?"

Not one to leave a fellow runner behind, I said yes. Plus, I admit I was struggling with these faster miles. A break would be welcome :-) And I knew that she would pull me through the last 1.25 of my faster miles. So, I took a brief break (probably about 5 minutes or so) and then on we went.

I expected to be on my own during my cool down mile and a half, but instead she stuck with me the whole time. Even when I ducked into the bank towards the end so I could hit up the ATM prior to our "run of the month" dinner and drinks festivities post-run (which is why that last half mile is SLOOOOW. I forgot to stop my watch while I withdrew money).

The only data I had from my Garmin was that my average pace for the run as a whole was 9:21. I figured that had to mean I hit my time goals. But, before I went home to upload my data I joined the running group at a local bar for a beer and a bowl of gumbo. And once I had my data uploaded? Spectacular results! I blew my goals out of the water. In the end, it turned out to be a GREAT run followed by a good time. I think this is a wonderful start to my training!

In other news....


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It's done. I did it. I'm committed. Or, at least, my $135 is committed. Let's hope ALL my training goes as well as last night.

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Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 628 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/01/10 Up/Downhill: [+22/-22] Time: 06:35 PM Difficulty: 2.7 / 5.0   Weather: Overcast   29 F temp; 68% humidity   29 F heat index; winds E 7 Performance Distance: 5.53 miles Time: 0:51:45 Speed: 6.4 mph Pace: 9' 21 /mi Calories: 658 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 38 +0' 17 6.2 -0.2 0 ft 2 8' 55 -0' 26 6.7 +0.3 -6 ft 3 8' 57 -0' 24 6.7 +0.3 +3 ft 4 8' 44 -0' 37 6.9 +0.5 +7 ft 5 9' 59 +0' 38 6.0 -0.4 0 ft end 12' 30 +3' 09 4.8 -1.6 0 ft Versus average of 9' 21 min/mile

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