Big Workout today, which turned into Big Disaster. Well, that's exaggerating. More like Moderate Disappointment and Slight Anger. I was planning on doing MP intervals: 5-mile tempo with 2 minutes recovery, 4-mile tempo with 2 minutes recovery, 3-mile tempo with 2 minutes recovery. So 12 miles of tempo total. An ambitious workout, but I did something similar before Ogden and I liked it. Unfortunately, I didn't run until afternoon, and it was about 80 degrees by then, warmer than it had been all week. So that was mistake number one. And then I choose to do the Young Ward-ICON Loop, which can be windy in the afternoon; sure enough I had a headwind for the first 5 miles. Mistake number two. And then I didn't finish eating my lunch until an hour before my run. Mistake number three. So the heat sucker-punched me, the headwind kicked me to the ground, and the upset stomach spat in my face.
The workout started well enough, and I was down to sub-6:30 pace at the end of my 1-mile warmup. I started the first tempo segment and hit a 5:30 and then a 5:28. But I was already struggling by the second mile. I decided to break it up into smaller intervals, so took a two-minute recovery right then, and then started another 2-mile interval. First mile in 5:24, but then I felt pretty bad, and rather than push through it, I called off the dogs and canned the workout after another quarter mile. I hate giving up like that, but at this stage of the game, trying to push through 80-degree heat and a headwind just to hit some splits would have done damage, not good. I underestimated the heat, and pushed too hard during the first 2 miles, and I think it messed up my body for the rest of my workout. But in any case, my stomach was getting upset too. And my shoe was giving me a blister. And the air was stinky. Just not a good day. I completed the loop and tried to just keep a steady pace. I would surge up to tinman tempo pace every so often and hit a few sub-6 splits, but mostly tried to keep it under control. Lessons learned: 1) get the workout done in the morning, or even early afternoon while it is cooler; 2) adjust pace better for heat and headwind. A split is just a number, it is the effort that matters.
Finished up with 12 miles instead of the scheduled 16, but my body told me to call it a day and not push it. It's time to start tapering. 6:12/mile average pace for the run. (Burn: 284 miles)
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