Week 14 - Key Run Workout #2

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Haven’t run on a Friday evening for a while, but this weekend I’m racing a half marathon on Sunday morning, so I’ve rearranged my training days slightly this week. Weather conditions were excellent (for a change) - temperatures in the low 70s and low humidity. The only thing that could have been better was the wind.

The second workout of the week called for a straight 5 mile run at medium tempo (MT) pace - 6:23 per mile. It sounded fairly manageable on paper and I was keen to leave work, get the run over and done with and then be able to start relaxing for the weekend.

I decided to run the first mile fairly easy so I’d be ready to run at the faster pace in the later miles. I started off slow, got progressively quicker and was able to spring into action when the beeper went on my Garmin 305. The first of the tempo miles was ok, although I found it difficult to match the 6:23 pace - I actually ran 6:25. The second mile was quicker (6:22), but I really had to work hard to make up the time.

Now, with only 2 miles to go, I was able to quicken slightly and record a 6:21. The final mile was an all or nothing effort and it was pleasing to see a 6:19 on my Garmin at the end of a very tough workout.

So, I’m not sure why workouts like this are challenging me more than I feel they should be. I really didn’t expect to have to work this hard tonight - it almost felt like I was in a race. Maybe it’s the just the cumulative effect of 14 weeks of intense marathon training, and everything will eventually come together during the race taper over the next 2 weeks. We’ll see I guess. One thing’s for sure, I’ll be able to gauge my level of fitness slightly better after Sunday’s 13.1 mile race and hopefully it will be a positive experience.