tempo run
5.25 miles | 61 minutes | Early AM
1.5 mi warm-up
30 minute tempo
1.5 mi cool down
I kicked the ass of today's run. It was hard. Those tempo runs are elusive buggers!
People sometimes asking me, "What's a Tempo Run?" Since he can say it better than I can, I'll quote Hal Higden:
This is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace. A Tempo Run of 40 to 60 minutes would begin with 10-20 minutes easy running, build to 20-30 minutes near the middle, then 5-10 minutes easy toward the end. The pace buildup should be gradual, not sudden, with peak speed coming about two-thirds into the workout. Hold that peak only for a minute or two. I consider Tempo Runs to be the "Thinking Runner's Workout. A Tempo Run can be as hard or easy as you want to make it, and it has nothing to do with how long (in time) you run or how far. In fact, the times prescribed for Tempo Runs serve mainly as rough guidelines. Feel free to improvise. Improvisation is the heart of doing a Tempo Run correctly.
My peak speed was 7 mph.
Sounds: NPR's Most E-Mailed Stories and KCRW's Good Food, during which I learned about the history of candy corn, and more than I ever needed to know about palm sugar.
Post-Run Fuel: one big bowl of millet rice flakes with skim milk, topped with bananas, strawberries, and honey! Mmmmm, and coffffeeee.
