10 Weeks & a Tempo Run

My A race for this spring is exactly 10 weeks away. To some extent this seems so soon yet at the same time it seems so far away. When I think about my training so far I realize how long 10 weeks really is. I've been training for 6 weeks so far and while at times I feel like I just started training and am so far away from my goal I also feel like I've been training for so long now. If 6 weeks feels like a long time 10 weeks must feel like forever.

It amazes me how far I have come in the past 6 weeks. I never imagined I would be holding these paces, especially this early into training. When I think that I have almost twice as much time to continue training I get excited by how much more progress I can make.

Site of Friday's long run

At the same time though 10 weeks is a really long time. Even though I have a coach figuring out when/where to do my workouts stresses me out way more than it should. I struggle to get out of bed in the morning and have lost of motivation to be productive after I get home from classes. I know that things are only going to get more stressful at classes and my internship start ramping up.

The past few weeks especially have been difficult for me. I truly enjoy training but it is easy to fall off track when I'm back in school. Seeing that I still have 10 weeks left of training is a nice reminder to recommit to training. This is when it is important to not skip workouts and stay on track.

Cheering on Kate Grace at the Millrose Games while doing homework

This week I am starting to incorporate some workouts into my training. We spent the first part of my training building up my endurance and now we are beginning to focus more on strength and speed.

_______________________________________________________________________

Yesterday I did my first tempo workout pretty much ever. After a short warm up 2 x 15 minutes at 10K pace with 5 minutes rest in between followed by a warm down. I felt a bit tired and sluggish for the first half of the run but things turned around during the second half.

Turning the corner & seeing this during my warm down..

Splits

• Warm up (1.68 miles): 8:58
• 15 min tempo (1.83): 8:10
• 15 min tempo (1.92): 7:50
• Cool down (1.29): 9:53

The first tempo interval I focused on going right at a 8:10 pace (my prescribed 10K pace) so that I would have enough energy for the second interval. During the first interval it was snowing quite a bit and blowing in my face. The second interval felt considerably better, probably in part because the snow had stopped and I knew I was almost done. Since I was staying at the boyfriend's house I didn't have my car with me and had to run to and from the trail. Unfortunately this meant my warm down included more than a mile straight uphill.