Tempo and a Winner!

My Early Morning Tempo Run

This morning I got up early (4:45am alarm) to complete my weekly tempo run... you know, the tempo that I was suppose to do Wednesday and then Thursday. {sigh} Week 1 of training has not gone as planned. However, I feel slightly better after logging the tempo in the books this morning.

As I headed out the door into the warm darkness (it was 54 degrees in IL this morning!!), I was eager for a run but not necessarily a tempo. Thankfully, I had two warmup miles to convince myself otherwise. The roads were wet and full of puddles from last night's rain, so I did a lot of jumping around to avoid wet feet (fail). Warmup miles: 10:27, 10:33.

The plan next called for two miles at an 8:44 pace. That's the tempo portion if you're not familiar with the term. I let out a big sigh and convinced myself to give it a try. My neighborhoods aren't exactly flat. They have some gentle rolling hills which normally I like for variety... except when I'm trying to bust out speed.  I didn't quite make my goal pace, but came close. It's painfully clear how much speed was lost during a fall focused only on distance. Tempo miles: 9:03, 8:47

I was thrilled to back it down for the cooldown miles. Thankfully, I was two miles from home or else I may have been tempted to cut it short. After a mile of cooldown, I felt back to normal and really enjoyed the final mile of this morning's run. Cooldown miles: 10:35, 10:21

It was a great start to a Friday, although not strategically placed in the week with my long run tomorrow morning. I need to sit down and review this past week... what worked, what didn't, and adjust my plan for week two of Eugene training.

** WINNER WINNER **

I loved reading all the entries for the "Inspire A Friend" contest. All of them were so touching and made my heart sing. If you're looking for a little motivation today, click here and read the comments at the bottom. So inspiring!! I wanted to award every single entry, but sorry, I don't have enough prizes or funds for that.  I called in support from my two best sounding boards (Mom & Kelli) to help me pick a winner...

I'm a sucker for inspiring an ENTIRE FAMILY into fitness!
Keep it up Damary and Papi!

WINNER is Papi Extraordinaire

Please email me at runwithjess@comcast.net your mailing address and I'll get your new NYCM shirt shipped out to you. Many happy runs to you and your wife!