Drove over to HHS to meet Fritz and crew, but I was the only one that showed. We had planned on hill repeats but I contemplated other options as I warmed up around Sugar House. I ultimately decided on a 6 mile tempo at goal-ish marathon pace. I have been wanting to do this for a bit and decided this morning was as good a time as any. My legs were feeling good and I had taken the previous 2 days pretty easy.
I decided to run an out and back along 1700 to keep the tempo flat and honest. Within the first mile I could tell that I was breathing too hard. It felt almost more like something between 5k and half marathon effort. (I would say 10k effort, but I have never run one before so I have no idea what that feels like). Each time I looked at my watch, my pace seemed to slip back to 6:25. I should have maybe taken that as a sign and just tried to maintain that, but I wanted the 6:15-6:20. I contemplated pulling the plug at 3 miles, but pushed it to 4. My legs were starting to feel heavy and it was AGAIN not my day.
6:18, 6:18, 6:15, 6:16
I ran back to Sugar House and decided to punish myself a little more with some hill repeats on the eastside grassy knoll. I did 10 up and down and then finished the morning with a lap of Sugar House.
Random rambling: Perhaps I need to commit to just having a down week. I probably should not have attempted the tempo this morning. I have had some good workouts and long runs in the past 2 weeks, but I need to get in a good tempo that will build my confidence. Maybe that needs to wait until next week. I still have some time until Ogden, but I feel like it is going to creep up fast.
Also, maybe I need to adjust my goal pace for Ogden. Then again, maybe it is too early to tell. I have been logging more miles this cycle. I have thought that my body has adjusted and I should be able to nail workouts, but maybe I need to back off mileage? My easy days are run super slow so I know I am not burning out on those. I will likely finish out this week pretty easy and then hopefully feel refreshed for next week.
Any thoughts are welcome.
Finally, the real champion this morning was the sunrise. It was outstanding.
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