Pace Yourself

I had a cross-training day, and then a rest day, but this 10 mile tempo run caught me by surprise today. I need about 90 minutes of running time to run my 10 miles at 8 minute pace, and a 1 mile warmup. So I wake up at 4:30 am, and I am off running at 5 am. I have a cap with little LED lights, and a light-up wristband. These early mornings are eerie and set me on edge a little bit. So, after a half-mile warmup, my first mile comes out to a 7:03 pace. Well, its a chilly morning, so that warms me up. I have a hilly loop that goes just under 8 miles. So, I run into an empty subdivision that has about a 1.75 mile set of streets. It is handy to run through, and not have traffic. But this gated community was laid out 3 years ago with all the utlities, and now there is only a model home, and a house built for a raffle for the local high school. This is a telling sign of the economy.

I keep seeing my miles well under the 8 minute pace, and I keep hitting hills, and running into the wind. Maybe I am anxious so I don't miss the train to work, because this run takes a lot of time. Of my ten miles, only 2 of them are over an 8 minute pace, and my average is 7:44. I make sure I have protein when I get back home, and I make my train.