Warm Up

I didn't go running this morning. It was 27 degrees with 10mph winds. I probably should have gone, but more sleep was appealing. The prediction was 33 degrees with 17 mph winds. It ended up being about 30 degrees, feels like 18 when I went around 4pm. This was one run where my 3-mile warm up was very much a necessity! All of my exposed skin hurt while I ran into the headwind down Route 1 to Alum Springs. Ugh. I wore my new hat from Jack & Grace. I don't know how warm it kept my head, but I was glad to have something covering my ears for sure. Wind is my enemy.

I started my 4-mile tempo run at the bottom of Bubba on Lee Drive. I started out too quickly for the first quarter mile and had a lot of beeping to slow down to. I was running under 5:10 at first. I settled in a little bit and ran 5:37 for the first mile. The second mile was 5:33, crossing the road and going up the first uphill on the back side of the park. I was hoping to avoid all hills, but it was ok. I peaked and turned around. Coming down the hill and crossing the road, I had a runner to chase. That put me at 5:29 for mile 3. I settled into that pace for a while and spent most of the last mile getting beeped at to slow down, ending up with 5:33.

I did 4 miles 28 seconds faster than I was supposed to. It was freezing cold, windy, and I had a stomach cramp for at least the last mile and a half. So it was less than comfortable. But I wonder if I'd been running the pace that I was supposed to, 5:40, if it would have felt much easier. That's what I'm banking on. Those first 15-18 miles at 5:40 pace are supposed to be easy so that when I try to drop it down, that's when it gets uncomfortable. That's still 8 miles of discomfort. What have I gotten myself into?

Tomorrow should be freezing cold in the morning, but less windy. I have to go in the morning the next 3 days; I can't go in the afternoons. Stupid cold. It's my own fault. I'm the one who said "it can't be too cold for the race." God is punishing me for my hubris.