Up to Tempo

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Tempo runs are so much more my "speed" than track work, either 800 meter or 1600 meter repeats. The one advantage of the track work is that I can pretty easily check my pace at short intervals -- every 100 meters or so. But, on the road, I am so bad at estimating my pace.

Today, I really wanted to stick closer to my target since I had 4 tempo miles to do. Oh, well. I guess if I can do them faster, it's not a real problem...

TEMPO SPLITS

1.00 x 8:51.33 (warm-up)
1.00 x 7:25.56
1.00 x 7:18.89
1.00 x 7:04.83
1.00 x 7:32.69
1.11 x 9:10.71 (cool down)

Even with the cooler temperature this morning, I finished absolutely drenched.

Run well, ya'll,
Bob

10K on the 10th

Nancy, writer of the blog Notes of a Non-Runner, has become a virtual race director extraordinaire. She organized another virtual race today, 10K on the 10th, and this has been the best ever. The entry fee was cut in half, prize money doubled, there were double the number of spectators lining the course, race timing was trust-based and self-reported, and there were toasted bagels with lowfat cream cheese and fruit for refueling.

The weather for the race was pretty good, at least in the Richmond, VA leg of the race -- 55° and 98% humidity, overcast but not raining, and a very light, cooling breeze. One of the nice things about a virtual race is that even if you're late for the start, all of the assigned race crew are still in place, the spectators stick around, and the refueling food never runs out -- and you can still run. Good thing, too, because I was late! My heat was schedule to start at 6:30 but I didn't make it to the starting line until 7:30. No problem except that I had to run by myself. Traffic control was good as drivers obeyed the virtual police and either moved to the left side of their lane or completely over to the left-hand lane.

I ran well, though not a PR. My time was 47:27 -- here are my splits:

1.0 x 8:15
1.0 x 7:33
1.0 x 7:18
1.0 x 7:12
1.0 x 7:47
1.0 x 7:44
0.2 x 1:38

Another perk of this race? It's not to late to sign up and run. Do 6.2 miles and post your time and blog link on Nancy's blog (when she starts putting the race reports up) -- you might also want to join Runner's Lounge and the 10K on the 10th group and post your results there.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Tempo Run - Day 3 of 10K Training

Well, wasn't sure how my fitness had held up. Since running the half marathon at the end of September, I had done very little faster work. Plus, though the temperature was only 32°, I found out that there were some icy patches on the road. The Plan for this 3rd day of my 10K training called for 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles @ 7:36 mpm, 1 mile cool-down. Here are my splits:

0.23 x 2:58.72 (Walking)
1.00 x 8:56.78 (Warm up)
1.00 x 7:40.95 (At this point, thought I wouldn't make it)
1.00 x 7:13.15 (Hmmm. Probably should slow down)
1.00 x 7:14.96 (Whoa! Didn't slow down much -- felt good)
1.25 x 9:51.82 (Ahhh. Watch the ice!)

Run well, y'all,
Bob
Richmond