I got to bed late last night (yes I am going to blame Paul), Paul wanted to watch the news. I got in bed around 10:45 and by that time I was stressed because I needed to wake up at 4:25. I noticed my breathing was rapid as I was trying to fall asleep. I was stressed and anxious--GOTTA SLEEP NOW! GOTTA SLEEP NOW! Well, that approach seldom works. At 11:15 I got up and took two benadryl. They made me groggy but I still has wrestless sleep, with two distinct dreams. On to the run, I felt like death starting my run. Dr. Brady advised me to not do speed today since he worked my hamstring over yesterday, but when you set up a workout to be paced by a guy who's kind enough to do it, you don't want to back out. So combine a tight/sore hamstring with grogginess (Josse can attest I really woke up halfway through our 9 mile run) and I am not feeling like tempoing the end of this 22 miler. I ran with Josse for 9.2, then met up with a crew at Sashas. I warned Sasha I was feeling foul, so he suggested a 4 mile tempo at the end. We started off slow, but once it was Derek, Jeff, Sasha and I, we dropped to 7:15-7:30 pace. Then after 6 miles with these guys, Derek peels off, and Sasha declares we will start my tempo and it will be 6 miles. After a couple of quarters at a slower pace (6:45-7) I was wondering if the tempo was really starting. I tried to keep the effort marathon pace, sustainable and comfortable, 1:36 became the standard split after 2 miles. The turnaround point was about where my hamstring started to feel more sore, and I wanted to quit at 4 miles, but I just kept plugging away quarter after quarter, until we had only one mile to go. Sasha challenged me to get a 3:10 last 1/2 mile and I got a 3:01, with a nice kick at the end. My legs felt like they were going to fall off, and I had 21.43 on the watch so I had a small cooldown. I appreciate Jeff and Sasha for pacing me on the tempo. They're great to do this for those of us who are brave enough to let them. I bought a bag of ice on the way home and brought the temperature to 52F in the bath for my ice bath today. Very cold! weight 121 (after a banana and some powerade even!). | 