Thursday 5/15 - Tempo Run

70 and Overcast

I decided to switch up the training plan for today. I originally had it down as a day to include pickups mid run but decided that a tempo run was probably a better idea. I have a natural tendency toward tempo running and find that I need to stop myself from doing it too often, but the timing was right. Last year, I started replacing tempo runs with pickups more often than not. The result was that I was extremely confident in my finishing speed which led to more confidence overall while racing. Knowing that all I had to do was hang on until the last half mile or so got me through a few tough races. This year, I may have taken my training too far in that direction so far. I haven't done a single tempo run yet which showed in my last speed workout as I struggled to sustain the hard effort on longer intervals. Thankfully, there is still plenty of time to rectify this. I also felt the need for the change this week because my legs recovered slowly from my last workout, and running pickups had taken a lot out of me the last few times I ran them. I feared that if I did pickups again this week, I wouldn't be able to put in a solid effort for a speed workout this weekend.

As for the run itself, I was a bit nervous going into it. I thought I might not be able to hold the goal pace of 5:15 for 4 miles which wouldn't help the fact that my last 2 speed workouts were lack luster. Can't skip a tempo because you think you won't be able to do it though. So, I tossed on my Flyknit Lunar 1s and headed out. The route was a pretty standard out and back along the Charles, but I wanted to avoid having to wait at any traffic lights during the tempo. To achieve this, I took a longer path to and from the Charles which meant I'd be able to turn around before the first crosswalk. It also meant that I would need to turn around half way through the tempo, but that's better than stopping completely. I took the first 3 miles easy at 5:55 pace. As the tempo started, I had a difficult time finding 5:15. First, I dropped to 4:40. Then, I eased back to 5:40. The whole first mile went like that. Dipping below 5:15 and easing back off above 5:15, but I did eventually start to narrow in on the pace. I guess I need to work on my pace making a bit. After the first mile, I evened out a bit and finished strong. Splits were 5:13, 5:16, 5:17, 5:09. Overall, the effort felt solid but wasn't all out. I'm considering it a success. The last 3 miles were at 6:30 as I strolled in. 10 miles in 58:20.