The first winter storm of the season is starting to roll in, which I am not particularly excited about. But it certainly does make me pause to feel thankful for the mild weather and clear roads I've had for the last 7 weeks.
The beginning of this week has been great running weather and things have been going *decent.* Okay, I admit I was feeling a bit dejected yesterday after my intervals, but I am feeling much better today. Here's why:
Yesterday's intervals really kind of sucked. I was scheduled for 85 minutes. 20 minute warmup; 12 x .25 at tempo pace (7:17) with .25 recoveries; 15 minute cool down. Sweet. That does not sound tough at all - especially since I am used to running longer tempo runs (up to 8 miles) rather than short little intervals like that. Wrong. I simply could not get into a groove with my pace, and given how short the intervals were, it was hard to adjust and hit the right pace for any length of time. Each one seemed to go like this - start out feeling great (but look at Garmin and see I am around 6:40 pace - my VO2Max pace), so I slow down (then look at Garmin and I am at a 7:20ish pace, so then I am sprinting the last .5 miles to get it down to the right number.
You'd think with TWELVE of them, I'd find the right pace.
Not so. It didn't help that my Garmin signal seemed off. Admittedly, I was looking at the thing way too much. But I'd turn a corner and suddenly the lap pace would change by 10 seconds even though I knew I had not slowed that dramatically. Annoying. Needless to say, it was a mentally difficult run.
I got home and pulled the numbers and they weren't as bad as I had expected. I really thought my paces would be more off and my HR would be totally out of where it should be. But, really all was okay in in the right ranges (invervals were all between 7:08 and 7:22 and at my LT heart rate).
But that is not why I am feeling better. I am feeling better about it all because: (1) I know not every run is great - deal with it; (2) it isn't like the paces were too hard - it was just difficulty in adjustments - that is easier to tweak than hitting a pace that is out of my fitness range; (3) I had an aWeSoMe run this morning. :)
I have to admit that the day after a long run or a structured workout, I feel like I deserve a recovery run. But that is not happening this season and I grumble a bit when I think about having to target that (d@mn) 8:45-9:00 pace. Yeah, I was in that place this morning and listening to the howling winds thinking just how little I wanted to get out there. But I dragged my butt out there and had a great run. It was one of those runs where I was just feeling great and happy to be out there. My stride felt nice and fluid. My pace was ahead of target and my HR was nice and low (8:36/153). I was feeling no signs of soreness or stress from yesterday's workout. Woot. It gave me the confidence that yesterday's workout took away.
That is what I love about running. Well, one of the things. Every day is a new day.
And now it is snowing and I am feeling very happy that I got out there and was able to get that great run in before the storm. :)
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