5 Mile Doozy

After my Nike store bonanza I put on some of my new gear and procrastinated for literally 2 hours before getting myself out of the door. I just couldn't get it all together - I kept checking stuff online, doing some work, setting up my Garmin, etc. etc. I felt like I hadn't prepared to run in a really long time (it has been since last Thursday, which is a long time) and didn't know what to do. It was really weird.

My objective was to do 5 miles, each mile at a varying pace:

Mile 1 = 8:45
Mile 2 = 7:30
Mile 3 = 8:15
Mile 4 = 7:30
Mile 5 = 8:15

(Actually I was given more of a range; the numbers above are at the low end of that range because I am an overachiever [sometimes].)

Here are my actual results:

Mile 1 = 8:37 (128 bpm)
Mile 2 = 7:07 (182 bpm)
Mile 3 = 8:08 (172 bpm)
Mile 4 = 7:27 (183 bpm)
Mile 5 = 8:19 (181 bpm)

Total Avg Pace = 7:56

(Then for good measure I ran the rest of the way home, which was about a mile at a 9:16 pace)

Mile 1 is always weird for me when I start from home. It is down hill and there are a lot of stop lights, so as evidenced by my HR, it was an easy mile. I know my pace was faster than prescribed, but next time I should probably pick it up a bit given the external factors. (Right?)

Mile 2 was TOUGH. It has obviously been a while since I've run and couldn't figure out the pace. Looking down at the Garmin is not helpful either because I do not believe the pace shown is necessarily correct (I do agree with the avg, just not the current pace it shows). I clearly ran much faster than I should have, but how could I know? I think next time I will program the Garmin so I can see the time/distance on that specific mile (lap), that way I'll have more of an idea of my pace. Anyway, it was hard and I could feel it but I kept going because I wanted to make sure I'd finish under 7:30. Oops, I guess now I know.

I'm not going to lie I stopped BRIEFLY after this lap for several reasons, mainly my wardrobe. In my excitement to wear the new stuff I bought I put on way too much and was really hot. I had to re-adjust, but I swear it didn't take long.

Mile 3 was okay. You can see by my HR that the break allowed my heart to slow down a bit. I bet the point of this workout is to NOT stop so I kind of screwed that one up. Oh well. Again, I went 7 seconds faster than I should have, but that is my amateur ability to pace myself shining through yet again. This mile felt totally fine, I remember thinking that it actually felt too slow.

Mile 4 was another bust-ass 7:30 mile and I just about hit it. This time it felt more comfortable and I was getting into the pacing groove a bit more. I did not stop at all after this mile!

Mile 5 was great. I was just over what I'd wanted to hit and it felt really smooth and easy. I loved this mile and actually didn't want to stop. I felt like I had a lot left in the tank and I'm not sure if that's how I was supposed to feel after this workout? Hopefully Coach Shawn can provide me with some guidance on that.

Now that I'm getting closer to the actual race I'm starting to wonder how possible it is going to be to do 13 (point one) consecutive miles under 8:00. Can I do it? Am I ready? The only other half I've done I finished in 1:53 (this is 4 years ago) and I definitely want to beat that time. But can I finish in under 1:45? I would really like to, but don't want to psych myself out about that part of it too much. I always have trouble with performance anxiety type crap.

Anywhoo - that's it! Today is an easy 3 miles, then tomorrow is what appears to be a nasty track workout with 5x800! That is motivation not to drink too much tonight, right?

(SIDE NOTE: Starting Jan 1 I am on a spending freeze on all non-essential items. I have blown it out of my kazoo lately on crap and it needs to stop. I spent more time at the Nike store than anticipated, then got caught in traffic - zip car charged me $50 for the 39 minutes I was late! Crap, considering it is only $9.50/hour.)