Last Official Tempo Run!

On Tuesday I had what I consider one of the hardest runs of the training schedule....a 12 mile tempo run with 7 miles at LT pace. To me, this run is harder than some 20 milers I have done....7 miles at LT pace is tough. I was busy at work that day which was good because I didn't have time to worry about the run or stress about the weather. The weather....the bane of my existence for tempo runs!! Another day of wind was on the forecast....you know its going to be bad when the symbol for the day on weather.com is just WIND! But it was 60 degrees out so I can't complain much.

I set out on my run (in my new Lululemon shorts!) and was feeling good. After a 3 mile warm up I picked up the pace. The first of the LT miles felt rough, but I soon settled in and got into a groove. I got stopped at a couple stop lights which forced me to take a few extra breaks than I would have liked. The wind wasn't bad until the last 2 miles of the LT pace when it started doing laps around the bridges on the river.....first it was coming from the west....then the east....then it was just vortexing around me!! And no this was not just in my imagination because I was watching the flags being whipped around in all directions!

I pushed through it though and finished with a 2 mile cool down. Overall my pace for the 7 LT miles was 7:58.....right where I wanted it to be! When things were getting rough I kept telling myself that this is my last tempo run of this training.....push harder! The next 4-5 weeks don't have official tempo runs, but in their place there are a couple tune up races and a marathon paced long run. Fine by me....I'm just happy that I don't have to see the dreaded LT on my schedule again!!

Yesterday I had an easy 3 miles at lunch with a work friend and then got a much needed massage after work. It hurt....it hurt bad!! I went to a new place that's closer to work and I both loved her and hated her at the same time!! She started with some deep stretching and then moved to the massage. What I really liked was that she thought about how everything is connected and worked on those points. I told her about my past calf issues and she noticed that my hips and hamstrings were really tight which would cause me to alter my gait some and maybe put extra stress on my calves. Its one of those pains that you can't wait for it to stop, but when it does you want it back because you know it will make you feel so good after :) Why can't my husband be like elite runner Deena Kastor's husband....he's a massage therapist and works on her every day!