Tempo

Based on last week's commitment to do more tempo runs, I did a tempo workout this morning. I jogged over to the Athens Rec Center to meet Matt. I was going to do 4 or 4.5 miles at tempo pace, which I'm guessing should be about 6:50 per mile for me. I didn't feel particularly good because yesterday was the epitome of a Monday. We all have them.

On the positive side, it did seem that we got a slight break from the humidity this morning. The dew point is 66F, so the relative humidity was around 70%-ish at 74F. That's better than the 90-95% humidity that we've been battling in the mornings recently. It's still far from comfortable, but it's better.

When I started, I hit the first 0.25 mile mark at 1:35. I knew then that I was in for a long day! That was way too fast. I have to figure out how to run tempo miles. I'm running them too hard right now. I was able to back off and pull that first mile in a reasonable 6:47, though. But it just sped up from there.

1. 6:47
2. 6:35
3. 6:38
4. 6:38

I have to learn to slow down just a bit during tempo workouts. They're supposed to be comfortably hard, not hardly comfortable. The 4th mile was hardly comfortable. All in all it was a good workout this morning. It was just over 8 miles total. I hope I didn't overdo it.

And I don't feel nearly as bad an hour later as I did right after I finished it. I guess that's why I run. I can wake up feeling rotten and then feel better after running.