Tempo Tuesday 10.8

Today I played nasty trick. It was horrible really. Like awful. Who would ever do such a thing? And I mean it was early morning, no coffee… I can’t believe it, I just had to confess:

Today I tricked myself into running a four-mile tempo run.

I am now three weeks into running workout; only really two a week or so. Or what most people call workouts. Right now I am just calling them different types of runs.

So for this upbeat run, I did not want to do it. My back was hurting yesterday; I’ve been exhausted and stressed and just plain out of it.

Normally I have one, maybe two, good runs a week. Luckily for me this Sunday was an awesome long run with two amazing people through Riverside State Park. We were missing one of our runners, as she was bad-assing it through the streets of Portland as she was on her way to an Olympic Trials Qualifier for 2016 and a huge WIN in the marathon. We stopped and checked her splits along the way, which was totally worth it.

Photo by Jodi 

Back to tempo work. After my disastrous Monday run (I threw my watch into bushes and then had to go retrieve it-funny thing is you think I am kidding), I was a little bit worried. So I had to trick myself.

On the calendar was just a measly 26 minutes worth of tempo work, and I was allowed to break it up however I would like, within reason. With shoes tied and reflectors on I headed out the door. I thought it might be easier if I found some kind of loop, that way I wouldn’t have to keep checking my time or worrying I wouldn’t make it, but rather I would just run the loop. And hope for the best.

All I did was click the watch and put one foot in front of the other. I stopped my thoughts, I put my head up, eyes full, clear heart. Can’t lose. Gawly I love Friday Night Lights. 

Clockwise for the first loop and then turned around and did it backwards the second. I tried to go farther than my original starting point-as far past as I could in thirteen minutes. I could tempo for thirteen minutes. It is just slower than race pace. I can still have an uncomfortable conversation, which I did… with myself.

Yes, I talk to myself when I run. Sometimes I am motivational, sometimes, I make weird sounds, and sometimes I just get mad and have one-sided-conversations that I wish I had had with someone else, like those comebacks you think of in the middle of the night.

Finally getting into my apartment and collapsing on the floor after climbing the hill for my cool down, the sun was coming out, the coffee smell was filling my kitchen, and my legs were burning and aching from the cold.

I had tricked myself into having a good workout. I just stopped thinking.  I just ran my loops and I finished. And guess what? I’m done. For this week. 

this was yesterday's coffee, but it was too pretty not to share.