Friday, January 18, 2008

First Tempo Run of 2008

Thank heavens for trusted friends and family. Without them - how would one ever get a moment of peace... a time to take out ones frustrations and stress on the road... time to rejuvenate?

My playdate swap with my girlfriend next door is my saving grace. Tuesday afternoons, her girls come to our home so the kiddos can play and she can get a few things done without interruption. On Thursday, my kiddos go to her home and I can get a run in without the jogger, without worrying about whether the kids are cold or irritable with one another. I'm sad though because I know they plan to move soon (they are waiting for their house in Lebanon to sell so they can buy a place with some property). I know Sweetie will be bummed when that happens as well - the girls are best friends! We'll stay positive though and be thankful for their proximity while we have it. We know in our hearts that we will be friends forever.

I had to skip my Speed Workout this week due to the complication I eluded to in my previous post. Today was my Tempo Run. I actually enjoy Tempo Runs - they are tough but I feel so accomplished when I am through - regardless of whether or not I achieved the desired pace.

The plan for today was 2 miles at Goal Pace (8:30), 2 miles at Tempo (8:00) followed by 2 miles at Goal Pace (8:30) again. I started out with a 1 mile warm-up and ran to a friend's house to pick-up a paper I needed signed. We chatted briefly as she printed out the release form and I learned that she and her husband recently purchased a new treadmill. I'm so jealous!

When I left, I suppose I pounded my frustration into the pavement because I finished the first 2 miles in 16:11 (8:05) pace. Ooops. Too fast. I thereby opted to switch things up and do the first 2 at Tempo (success already), the middle 2 at GP and the final 2 at Tempo again. Though I struggled a little, I finished the next two at 17:04 (8:31). Success again! The final 2 started out well - as I peeked at the Garmin, I saw 7:41 for much of the time, but I slowed in the final 3/4. I just couldn't hold on. I finished in 16:47 (8:23)... a little slower than desired but still great. :)

I then jogged home about 3/4 mile to cool-down. It has been a very good day. :D

5 comments:

  1. Hee, hee. If I ever meet your little one, I'll have to make sure I'm on my guard for that vicious bear hug :-)

    Nice reverse tempo run! Need me to talk to hubby for ya about a treadmill? LOL!! I'd give you mine, but its probably dangerous to your health :-O

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  2. dangit i left you a nice long comment and it got lost :(

    In a nutshell: I like Illustrator. Am attempting this T-shirt design from my laptop using Illustrator. I'll then bring it into Photoshop to spice it up.

    Ah neat you have a wacom tablet i'd love to, but I don't do this kind of work anymore...freelance tends to stress me out. Even this t-shirt design has me waking up in the middle of the night thinking about it! :-o

    See you at the bookclub meetings!

    :D

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  3. I find the tempos really hard to keep at the right pace also. Oh well..

    It did snow here.. 2 days in the last week! I got some pictures that I'll post soon.

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  4. You are so lucky to have good friends like that nearby. Most of my neighbors are either childless or anti-social. :-(

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  5. Hey there! You are so kind and leave such nice messages on my blog. Thank you! Just so you know, tempos are my LEAST LEAST favorite training run. Why? Because although it's not race pace, it's still a pretty fast and sustained effort and they're just killer runs. Ugh. What races are you training for this spring/summer? I wish you lived closer too because it would be GREAT to run with you!

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