It was 18 deg. this morning when I headed out for an 8 mile run. I had to dress warm but wanted to do a tempo run so after 3 miles when the sun came up and I was warmed up I ditched my long pants and sweatshirt. The only cloud in the sky moved in front of the sun and I was wishing I hadn't shed so quickly. I think it's the first time I have been running in shorts and 2 long sleeved tech shirts while sporting an ice goatee. I ran the first 4 miles at 8:00 min pace then started a tempo run. I wanted to keep the pace around 6:30 pace which is what I had hoped my 1/2 mar. pace will be in January. This morning it didn't feel like I could have done a 5k much quicker. It's been 3 1/2 months [since before my injury] that I have run that pace other than 1/2 mile twice earlier this week. My splits for 3 miles were 6:31, 6:29, and 6:14 for 6:24 pace. I ran 1 more cooldown mile untimed. Pace for 7 miles was 7:19.
My back was bothering me again to start out but felt a little better toward the end. As soon as I finished I had to go cut and haul firewood for 5 hours which had me a little concerned for my back but as of now it seems allright. Hopfully after a rest day tomorrow I'll be ready to go next week. | 