A Real Tempo Run

That darn Runner’s World magazine is always giving me ideas. June’s issue had an article in it with some different workouts, and one was to try a tempo run. But I don’t really neeeeeed to do a tempo run. I’m just running the marathon to finish it.

But sometimes I need to mix it up. Sometimes a 6-mile run (which is what was on my schedule for Sunday), sounds boring. So, on Saturday night, entered my info in the McMillan Running calculator to get some paces for a tempo run.

Now, I didn’t spend Saturday fueling very well for a run on Sunday. Mr. T and I celebrated our 9-year anniversary (which is actually Wednesday) by going out for some delicious burgers and fries, and then the football match (AKA soccer game) at Qwest Field: Seattle Sounders vs. Toronto.

I almost cried when the game started. I was so excited. I played soccer competitively through high school, and then for recreation in college and after. I don’t know why I stopped. Probably the cost.

Anyway, Mr. T got some great club-level tickets. I got a Sounders scarf. I drank two beers during the game (at nearly $10 apiece!!!). And the Sounders scored three goals! Afterward, we went to The Cheesecake Factory and had cheesecake.

Club level seating rules!

Fun, fun, fun! Buuuut, not exactly the best way to hydrate and fuel the night before a kinda-sorta speed workout.

The Tempo Run
Sunday morning around 7 a.m., the sky was clear and blue. I had set aside a skirt for my run, but the temperature was 38 when I came downstairs and so I quickly changed my mind. Except the only clean capris I had were my oldish ones. Oh well. I wore them with my CEP compression socks and my Brooks jacket that Mel gave me. Then I put on my sunglasses and pulled a fleece cap over my head. I looked hot.

I filled my Nathan handheld with water and dropped a NUUN tablet in. This would be my first test run with the handheld. I decided to fast-walk about a quarter-mile to warm up my legs. I also did some kick-butts. My handheld was leaking. Too much pressure from the slightly carbonated NUUN? I had gloves on, but I could feel it was warm in the sun and wouldn’t need them. I put them in my pockets and snapped a picture of Mt. Rainier (that I am having trouble getting off my phone – just picture blue sky with big, white volcanic mountain sticking up into it).

Okay, let’s get running. So, McMillan says my easy run pace should be 10:15-10:45. No prob. I was cold and my earbuds were bugging me and my water bottle was still leaking. Plus, I was finding it annoying. Too much resistance for my arm-swing. Mile 1 was 10:18.

I decided to do my 3-mile neighborhood loop twice, so I took off through my ‘hood and down, then up U-Go Hill. My water bottle was so annoying. I am not a handheld girl. But I knew I would need to hydrate during my run since I dehydrated the night before.

McMillan says my tempo pace should be between 8:52-9:15. Right now, my Garmin is set to show my pace at that exact second and my total time. So I couldn’t tell if I was on pace because sometimes I was at 9:38 and sometimes I was at 9:00, etc. I think there’s a way to change this, and I need to because it was driving me crazy. I really had no idea what my overall pace for that mile was. I used my new mantra to try to keep from going too fast. Mile 2 was 9:00.

I’m not sure what happened on Mile 3. I was hot? Looking at the stats on my Garmin, it looks like most of the mile was climbing up slightly. I guess that was it. Mile 3 was 9:19.

Mile 4 was…uneventful. I was on pretty flat ground, so that was nice. I got into a rhythm and could tell I was keeping my pace well. Mile 4 was 8:55.

Just before Mile 5 began, I stopped off at my house and dropped off the water bottle. Ahhhhhh! I felt so much better the second I set it down. I wanted to fly, and I took off. Being able to swing my right arm made a huge difference. I felt awesome. Free! I took off on my loop. I was going too fast. I tried to slow down, but I felt good. I really, truly, did try to slow and keep to my tempo pace. Apparently, I didn’t slow enough. Mile 5 was 8:43.

Mile 6, I slowed to a comfortable pace. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to run easy or comfortably. Whatever it was, I liked it. I kept thinking that it might be my running pace for the marathon (I will be running 5 minutes and walking 1 minute for the race). When I looked at my Garmin, it was showing me 9’s: 9:15, 9:30, 9:44. All good. All comfy. I realized I was going to have too much mileage if I finished my complete loop, so I cut through a neighborhood back to my house to keep it closer to 6. No reason to do too much and hurt myself. (I did do U-Go Hill twice and Monster Hill twice, so I got a little hill training, I guess.) Mile 6 was 9:29.

McMillan says my steady-state runs should be 9:15-9:31, so I guess that’s what I was doing. Ha!

Total: 6.34 miles in 59:03
Average pace: 9:18

Overall, I was happy with this run. It seemed fairly easy. The tempo portion kept things interesting and helped me challenge myself. I even had several big hills incorporated. I’d love to sign up for a 10K race because I would crush my old PR of 1:10:43 (which was my very first race back in October, 2009).

Post-Run
Later, I did some more running…in flip flops when I went with T Junior and Mr. T to the nearby school to fly T Junior’s kite.

The sun was so glorious yesterday. I so needed it. I don’t want to complain about the weather because it could be so much worse (those poor people in Alabama). However, I have been feeling the effects of the gray, rainy weather (we never really had a real summer last year), and was in desperate need of some sun.

Thoughts:
-I can’t run well with a handheld. It throws me off. I do not want to take it. I’d rather wear the belt.
-I liked breaking up my run with the tempo miles in the middle.
-Running in flip flops is hard.
-I almost twisted my ankle coming off of the sidewalk near my house. That would’ve sucked.
-I miss soccer and sort of want to sign up for a league.
-Today is raining and it sucks.
-I think there’s a track at the school we were at, which will be good for sub-2 half training after the full.
-I don’t know if I can run a sub-2 half, but I figure it’ll be fun to try.
-I need to get my eating in check. I feel heavy. I gained 1.4 pounds last week.
-I iced my leg last night ju
st in case. I’ve been feeling something on the inside of my lower left leg off and on. I think it’s a muscle as it goes away and then occasionally comes back. It doesn’t hurt, I just don’t know what it is. It’s about three inches above the inside ankle.

Sorry for the long post; had a lot to say, I guess! Have a great week!