I was planning to do a speed run tomorrow to add some variety to my runs which I am feeling I really need to do in order to improve. Then my running partner sent me this article on tempo runs and announced she would be doing one at the gym tonight. Inspiring as always she got me thinking I should do one as well and with the added benefit of adding even more variety to my running workouts since I did speed work last week (not ready to do both workouts in one week!)

So since the last 10K I did I ran at an 8 minute mile, following this article’s directions I added 15 seconds to that to establish my tempo pace of 8:15 miles. I wasn’t totally firm on nailing that exact pace, but I decided I would just run fast for the prescribed 20+ minutes sandwiched in between 15 minute warm up and cool down runs. Last night I planned out my route in my mind and this morning I hit the somewhat chilly (but not enough so that I wore tights) day.

I warmed up for about 15 minutes or so, actually covered a shorter distance than I had planned. I think I was going so slowly on the warm up and I was excited (excited?) about the fast pace that I just couldn’t hold back. So I was off! I checked the watch and figured my time (8:00) that I needed to start my cool down. As I was nearing my first turn back toward the college I realized how quickly I was going through my normal route. The blocks were flying by!

Like I said earlier, I wasn’t totally sure what my pace was exactly, but as fast as I was going I was able to keep my three steps in and two steps out breathing going for the first 2/3 of the fast portion. For the final 1/3 I switched to a 2-2 breathing pattern. As I was nearing the college I realized that my first guess of how far I needed to go was off and that I would need to go further to my second estimate point. When I hit the that second guess I was perfectly on schedule at 8:00, 23 minutes of fast pace running. Phew, the temp portion was over! Time to cool down. My cool down was longer than it probably needed to be, but that was ok with me.

As I type this I feel the run in my thighs, gotta love that soreness you get from knowing you worked hard. I am looking forward to the next tempo run I do!