Hello! How’s the day going for you? Mine has been pretty darn good with these gorgeous views.
I’m sorry that I keep throwing our “perfect weather” at you this week, but really… it’s the best. And, hey, after the winter we had last year I feel like I’m long overdue for those types of bragging rights.
Today’s training run called for a 5 mile tempo run. Do ya’ll do tempo runs? I’m still trying to get the hang of them.
I stuck with the suggestions I read online to do a 10-15 minute warm-up and cool-down run and decided that 1.5 miles each at that pace would do the trick. I aimed for my “race pace” for the middle 2 miles, whatever that is. My fastest 5K time is 22:07, but I’m not sure the 7:07 pace is feasible to go for all the time. I had some kind of fire lit behind me that day. Instead, I have been aiming anywhere in the 7-8 mile/min. pace mark.
It’s been a challenge to really track my pace anyways. I love my Polar FT60, but I wish it came equipped with speed and distance tracking. For the moment, I guess the measurements on my Map My Run app will do. But who really knows how accurate those numbers are either?
Right at the 3.5 mile mark, I went from a sprinting pace to a power walk. When tempo running do any of you go directly into slower paced running (even if it’s a jog) right away? I feel like I always need at least a minute’s break of walking included in my transition.
I have to say, however, that my tempo runs have gone by faster that any of them. I guess it’s similar to doing on and off sprints on the treadmill. You constantly have to look at the clock and track what you are doing, so it makes the time fly by. It does for me at least!
I finished the full 5 miles at an average of a 8:56 min./mile pace, according to my tracking app. I’ll take that.
As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted with puppy eyes and grabbed Roadie for a walk around the neighborhood before lunch. It’s too nice out not to let him enjoy it a little too!
We parked ourselves next to a nearby pond of water and enjoyed watching the geese and swans for a bit.
Ha! Remember the swans?
I still think the fact that they aren’t real and someone put them there is hilarious. I didn’t realize I sat in a huge pile of mud until we got up, but it was still worth the few minutes of sunshine and serenity. Whoops!
As soon as we got back to the house I made myself a monster salad that turned out fantastic. I loved the combination of flavors!
Spinach, spring mix, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, black olives, hard boiled eggs, corn (fresh off the cob), shredded cheddar cheese, ground pepper, and drizzled balsamic vinegar for dressing.
It’s been one of my favorite fall days so far! Now it’s time for me to sign off and work on a project before study time. Woo hoo!
Questions of the Afternoon
I need some advice…
• Any tips for tempo running?
• Have any of you ever included tempo runs in your race day plan?
I would love to be able to transition from sprinting to a jog without walking. Also, I think it might help the miles go by faster if I put a few tempo miles in my half on race day. Is that a horrible idea? Thoughts? Thanks in advance!
![[in our elementary school era] 🚌😭
Skyler did great walking into KINDERGARTEN with a big smile on his face this morning. I, however, was a bit of a mess on our walk home. 🥹
It’s wild how fast these 5 years with him have gone … 7 since we moved to NYC and into our apartment, dreaming of the day our kids would someday go to the *awesome* school right down our block. 🏫
That day is today, and I still don’t believe it — feeling allll of the emotions and thanking God for placing us here and for being able to trust His timing through the journey. 🫶🏼 #hbshinnyc
SO proud of you, SK - you are going to rock your first year at your “big boy school” - WE LOVE YOU !! 🩵👑](https://lifeinleggings.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
When I finish with a tempo segment of a run, I always take a short little walk break! Probably not even a 1/4 mile, just enough to catch my breath, slow my heart rate before returning to a light cool-down jog! I did this yesterday after doing 2 miles of tempo! I am trying to break 23 minutes in a 5K. My fastest is 23:04….so close! I have been interested in your half marathon training! I have done too many half marathons to count, and had my PR of 1:52 last fall! I have never done a plan like yours, but I love it and think that I will try it in preparation for one next year!
Good to know I’m not the only one then… thanks! I made my half marathon training up on my own, based on what I did last time mixed with a few other reputable plans out there (via Runner’s World and such), so I am testing it out as I go. It seems to be working, and I’m not struggling with the longer runs yet. We’ll see come race time! I plan on writing all about it. 😉
I’m pretty sure that race pace is your goal pace for the race you’re training for. So you wouldn’t use your 5k pace, you’d aim for whatever pace you’re planning to run at during the half marathon.
Well that would make them a lot easier for me! 😉 Thank you!
You’re a fast runner! Tempo runs are the hardest runs to me. I take a while to get to a good base but tempo runs just get to me and I start having a mental battle with myself of, “can I do this?” I want to slow down but a part of me knows its possible to maintain a slightly faster speed!
I am not an expert by any means, but I would suggest doing speed drills as another way of getting your pace up. Good luck with training! 🙂
I love pace runs! I do one a week with my current plan. I don’t use my 5k pace because let’s be real, that is not my marathon race pace! I’d die if I even attempted that 😛 I use my goal race pace, plus a warm up/cool down jog.
For measuring distance, I just do that run on the treadmil. It forces me to keep that pace and makes it easier to measure.
Sounds like your training is going great- good luck!!
I’m not a super experienced runner, so take this with a grain of salt! I’ve trained for and run a few halfs and tempo runs or negative split runs, esp on the treadmill are my favorite. To keep your race moving quickly you might consider negative splits (faster pace each mile)…or something similar based on the course (if there’s a hill you could neg split to the hill and then “restart”, neg, neg, neg). The “I have to run x today” mentality of training always ends up taking the fun out of running for me, but I think focusing on the types of runs you DO enjoy and finding gratification in the challenge is so important to keep yourself motivated!!
Your salad looks amazing. Yum! What great running views you have. Can’t wait for some cooler weather here in CA! Can’t help you with the temp runs. I’ve got one pace: slow 🙂
I wouldn’t say it’s a horrible idea to add in tempo miles on race day. However, you should be running tempo on race day anyway as that’s why you are training with it now. The speed workouts will come through and you’ll be able to push yourself more for the race. I would say that you shouldn’t be able to push yourself much faster on race day, unless you are taking the majority of it conservatively, then yes I’d add in some faster miles just to make it go by a little quicker! Go for the pace you want to finish your half in. The 5k is more of a sprint, so if you use that, I’d add some time on and then figure out your pace. Aim for the speed you would love to run during the half and that should help with going into the jog! Good luck!
Omg I LOVE that picture of Roadie! What a cutie!
Aw thank you 🙂
I am terrible at tempo runs. I typically try to do shorter runs where I build the speed each mile-ending with the fastest mile being the last. Then I walk a half mile or so cool down. For a true tempo run, I try to average a little faster than my goal pace for the upcoming race. Ex: half marathon goal pace is 8:15->tempo run pace would be 8 min/mile.
Great tips, thank you!