Today’s schedule called for a 1-2-1 tempo run: One mile at an “easy tempo” pace, two miles at “mid-tempo” and one final mile at the easy pace again.
My goal for the two-mile mid-tempo portion was to maintain a pace of 7:10 per mile, which would have me finishing that segment in 14:20. I used an out-and-back course that has a moderate climb in the last quarter mile of the “out” leg and completed the first mile in 6:40, which is obviously way faster than I was supposed to go. I think it was fear of the uphill portion that got me to push so hard.
On the “back” part, I settled down a bit, which brought me to the end of the mid-tempo part at the 13:26 mark.
I felt some slight joint pain left over from Saturday’s half marathon, and my leg muscles definitely had some fatigue, but I am pretty happy with the recovery over the past 48 hours. Let’s see what 0600 CrossFit at the Academy has in store for Tuesday!