Tempo Thursday

Well - another Thursday - another tempo run. I fired up the "jets" for a 45 minute tempo run up the San Diego Creek trail. I was a little apprehensive because I've been feeling physically tired this week. I think it's the six day a week structured program with two hard workouts that may be doing it. But, I figured as long as I could get my heart rate in the proper range, the workout would benefit me, so I went off around 4:45 PM.

Now, the problem with running at that time of the day around the ocean here can be summed up in one word - headwind!. The trail I run on is especially susceptible because it runs away from the coast on the way out, but back toward the coast on the way in. So, that means I have to deal with headwinds on the the way back to the car. And - yesterday they were blowing pretty stiff. I settled in and pulled off the run. It seemed like I was running at a crawl. My heart was pumping in the proper zones, my lungs were a little uncomfortable, but it just seemed like my legs weren't turning over. What the heck. The purpose of the run was to build lactate threshold, so as long as my heart rate was in the zone, I continued onward.

The real shock came when I got back and dumped my Garmin. Now, I'm not speedy or anything, but I was shocked to see that my total run , including the warm up and warm down was 9:10 (4.9 miles)! This is a new PR for *any* training run for me! Woot! Better yet, the "tempo" portion of the run was at an 8:46 pace. And that's including some time building up to pace, and then a short walk while I rearranged my music at the turnaround point. And my tired legs! Wow - I am pretty excited. I need to find that 10K race pretty soon!

Speaking of which, I think I've finally settled on the race I want to do. I think I'll hit the La Habra 10K on Saturday March 28. It's a smaller race on a "semi-challenging" course (a few hills). What I've been able to determine is that it's more a neighborhood affair, with a nice little expo and that small town feel.

Today is a much needed rest day. I'll be back Sunday morning after my 12 miler on Saturday!