THIS. This is what a breakthrough workout feels like. 1 mile easy, 10 mile tempo at average pace of 7:16, 1 mile easy. I felt like the stars aligned on this one, but in reality, it was just finally doing all the things I should have been doing all along, e.g.: (a) spent 30 mins stretching and rolling the night before; (b) ate huge sweet potato the night before with dinner + lots of water; (c) got 8.5 hours sleep; (d) wore new shoes (same model but not bashed to death by NYC pavement).
Splits were: 7:22, 7:20, 7:12, 7:16, 7:16, 7:14, 7:17, 7:15, 7:19, 7:12. Even though it was "only" four seconds per mile faster than last weeks tempo, the feeling was worlds away. Last week I hung on for dear life, and had to stop mid-way. This week, no stops and felt strong to the end. Anytime I felt tired, I imagined being at mile 15 or 16 of the marathon with 10 miles to go, and needing to push through it. It worked!
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