Goal for this morning was 7 miles @ 6:36 pace plus warm up and cool down. I was supposed to meet Raj at 6:00 by the neighborhood gate, but he sent me a text saying he couldn't make it, so I slept in until 6:00. I could hear the wind blowing pretty hard outside. Got myself ready, headed outside and immediately walked back in the door and put on a hat. Stepped outside again and immediately turned around, went inside and put on some gloves. Although it was 45 degrees outside which isn't so bad, the wind was just cutting right through me. Well, have to start the run eventually, so finally got moving. Warmed up with two easy miles, 9 something for the first mile then 8:45ish the next mile. Thinking to myself now how can I expect to run 6:36 miles in this wind? On top of that I wasn't feeling so well. Shin was fine today and so was the hamstring, but I had a heaviness in my chest. Started the tempo portion, heading north on Starkey Blvd. Wind was from the North-NorthWest at 14-20 mph. It didn't feel good. I stopped after .4 miles and thought about scrapping it. But I still had to do the miles and there was no guarantee that tomorrow would be any better, so I put it out of my head and quickly started again. First mile was nearly on pace, second I had slipped a few seconds. The third mile was the slowest at 6:57. At mile 3 I turned right onto a side street and my pace immediately picked up. The wind had been a huge part of the problem. Turned around after another 1/2 mile and was back in the wind again, but knew if I held on for another half mile, I'd make my turn, and be heading south down Starkey Blvd with the wind at my back. And that is what happened! Last 3 miles were 6:33, 6:36, and 6:15. I finally felt good, like a completely different person than the one that started the run.
Splits recap: 6:37, 6:42, 6:57, 6:43, 6:33, 6:36, 6:15 Average tempo run pace, just under 6:38
Two mile return trip back home with the first one at 8:30ish and the last mile at 7:07 Average pace: 7:16 PM - did 14 minute yoga routine on Wii Fit, not much but better than nothing.
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