Last Tempo

Today was the last tempo run in my marathon training program. For the next 5 weeks, I get a steady dose of long runs, marathon pace long runs, VO2 workouts, and races. Then, it's taper time.

I knew this workout would be tough, but I really underestimated how bad it would be. The plan was for 12 miles total with 7 miles at tempo pace. I figured that based on my race performance at the Monte Sano 15k, tempo pace should be about 6:40 per mile. It was harder to hold that pace for 7 miles today than it was to hold it for 9.3 at the race. My heart rate was under control mostly. It was just above the tempo range for the last mile, but not bad. It was just hard to hold the pace today. Some days are better than others.

Matt came over and we ran over to the Athens High walking track as usual. There at the track I saw Jeff and my uncle Bryan getting their workout in. Good to see you guys! The miles on the track are a little long. I manually lapped the watch at the mile markers on the track instead of auto-lapping, so the splits below are for just over a mile, and some miles are longer than others. It came out to a 6:40 average pace overall on my Garmin.

1. 6:55
2. 6:40
3. 6:45
4. 6:42
5. 6:36
6. 6:42
7. 6:40

I got a twinge in my right calf yesterday that started midway through the run and lasted until the end. It was there this morning, too. It didn't hurt during the tempo portion of today, but it was definitely sore afterward. I'm monitoring and icing it. It doesn't feel like something I can't run through.

Then, when I got home, I started feeling sick and have been at home sick all day. Yuck! Hopefully tomorrow is better. Maybe that's why it was hard to hold the pace.