Well our string of dry warm weather officially ended this morning. Light rain fell during the entire run and temps hovered around 40. Fortunately there was no wind.
The workout was a tempo run of 7M@5:35 and then 3M@5:12. The 5:35s were easy although it was kind of a weird pace to run. All 7 miles were in the 5:30-5:35 range. I felt like I could have run all day at that pace. The final three miles were in 5:12, 5:16 and 5:12. Those definitely took some effort. I had forgotten how difficult it is to run fast when tired. Normally when I do a threshold cutdown, my coach will have me stairstep it down four-6 seconds per mile every couple of miles. This time, I went from 5:35 to 5:12 in one fell swoop which shaving 6 seconds off per lap. This is challenging and a difficult change of pace especially when you develop a rhythmn for the previous 7 miles.
But it's a very useful workout as it teaches your body to run tired.
I debated all morning whether to do the workout on the track or on the roads. I finally opted for the track. 40 laps around the track pretty much bites but it's where I felt most comfortable even though is began to feel very treadmillish by the end.
Good workout. A solid week of running. | 