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February 12, 2005
Annual 10 Mile Tempo Run
One of the workouts our group does every year is a 10 mile tempo run. We always do it the Saturday closest to Valentine's Day which has led to some pretty ugly conditions in some years. Two years ago we did the run in a snowstorm leading into a blizzard. The weather this year was not too terrible, it was chilly and windy. The wind was not too bad for the most part, but at times it was really biting.
This run does not start at the same place as our usual Saturday morning long runs, we meet at the track where we do our workouts. A group of us did the usual track warm up, while others did a shorter warm up. The run goes off in groups, the slowest groups going first and the fastest groups going last-so we can all try to finish closer together. A few weeks ago I gave J my training log so that he could see what I'd been doing. He put some notes in for the coming weeks, one of which was to stay relaxed and aim for anything between 66 and 70 minutes for today's run, depending on the conditions. After being so tired on Thursday night, he changed his tune and said that it should be run right around goal marathon pace if I were to run one this fall. I guess that was about the same kind of pace, but just a different way to think about it.
I went off in the last group. The course is a straight out and back course. It is definitely not an easy course, there are some bitchin hills on it. The way out is more uphill than the way back. A brief, mile by mile description of the course is: miles one through 3 are pretty uphill, mile 3 to 4 is a significant downhill, mile four to five is a hill that never ends, then mile five to six is a really nice downhill, mile six to seven is another long hill, then from seven on in it is pretty much downhill. T took off for the first 3 miles and then started to peter out, which is typical of his running. I really tried to not look at my splits. It isn't something I do that often in races because I really try to run by feel and learn how paces feel without having to depend on my watch. I did take a look at the turnaround, which I hit in about 34:04. I was feeling pretty good on the way back until around the 7 mile point. Two things happened there: two 18 wheelers came by me and made me come to almost a complete stop with the wind and my stomach really started to cramp on me. I backed off some then because I did not know what would happen with my stomach. Even with the cramping, I was able to finish strong in 66:45.
Three of us went on the regular warm down. We ran it really easy, since two of us were not feeling so great. My ankle did not bother me while doing the tempo run, but it was sore after I stopped. I think that I would have been better on the warm down if I had never stopped. As soon as I got done the tempo part of the run, I was laying on the ground in a ball.
My traing buddy, the triathlete J, was on patrol this morning. He drove up and down the course giving us some encouragement. I flipped him the bird a few times because he was giving me such a hard time. He kept telling me that I was slowing down and the people behind me were catching me. I know that it is not a race, but you never want to be the one who pushes the pace and then blows up.
I went over to the gym and my stomach was giving me lots of trouble the whole time. I did manage to ride the bike for about 50 minutes. I did some lifting, not as much as I would have liked, but it is difficult to lift when you have run 15 miles and gotten sick so that there is nothing left in your system. I had to run into the bathroom at the gym about 4 times because the cramping in my stomach was so bad. At this point, there is nothing left to get rid of.
I have a party to go to tonight, so the rest of the afternoon is preparing appetizers to take with me. I would like to take a walk in the afternoon so that I can warm up my legs to be able to stretch. Hope that everyone is having enjoyable weekends!
Posted by Blondie at February 12, 2005 12:13 PM
Comments
it is good youdon'tgive up you have to imporve your style of traing .I want an idea if you are volentery send me recent information
thank you
Posted by: Temesgen at May 5, 2006 04:42 AM