Tough Tempo

After a week of recovery from the Vancouver Marathon, Monday marked the beginning of training for my next race - a half marathon in Calgary on May 29th. 

Monday night was a fun group run on a local trail.  If you ever have a discouraging run or race, and can get out on a trail, it's a great way to make running fun again!  The run really energized me and I decided that my plan for the next 3 weeks to prepare for the half will include 2 speed workouts a week, as well as a long run and some kind of run for fun (either on the trail, or a new route), plus either a fifth run or an hour of cross training.

Today, I went out for a tempo run.  I planned on 3K easy, 6K @5:30/km, 3K easy.  It didn't look like a nice day for a run, but the light rain and breeze helped keep me cool on this run. 

After the first .5K of the tempo portion, I had a choice.  I could turn left onto a flatter route, or right onto a hillier route.  I'm not going to become a better runner by taking the easier route, so I turned right.  I felt like I was in an all out sprint to keep my pace up on the uphills, and I was careful to pay attention to my form and not get carried away on the downhills.  I wasn't exactly consistent on all 6K, and I had to make a quick stop to get a bug out of my eye using the side mirror of a car on the side of the road, but I did it!

Warm up:
6:15
6:16
6:25

Tempo:
5:16 (whoa, too fast!)
5:25 (getting better)
5:34 (that's what I get for starting too fast)
5:41 (includes the stop for the bug removal)
5:13 (yikes!)
5:32 (thank goodness it's over!)
Avg:  5:27!!!

Cool down:
5:52
6:11  (getting tired)
5:44 (second wind!)

Overall:  12K @ Average Pace: 5:47/km

Even though I got a bug in my eye and I almost threw up after climbing the final hill in the tempo portion, this was a great run!  I really wasn't sure I could handle this pace, especially on a hilly route, but until the very end, it felt tough, but manageable.