2 x 2 Tempo Run

Wow, today was a tough workout. I went out with a goal of maintaining 8:45 for each set of 2 miles, this is the first time in a while I actually stayed with the pace I set and did not exceed my expectations. That tells me that I finally pushed myself hard enough in a training run, and I'm actually pretty proud of myself. It was a hard workout, but it felt great after it was over. Also, the weather today was very nice, about 57 degrees, 10 degrees warmer than the last time I ran!

Play it safe or push yourself?

Earlier today I went out for a 5 mile tempo run. My goal was to run it at a 9:10 pace and over the course of the 5 miles I ended up averaging 9:02. I realized during the run that each time I set out with a goal in mind, it's usually a relatively safe goal that I would tend to always meet and even exceed. Case in point today, my first mile was 9:08, then each one after was just a little faster, ending the last two miles below 9. How did it feel? Well, it felt pretty good, not seriously hard and not seriously easy. Two weeks ago I ran my last tempo run with a goal of 9:20 and I ended up averaging 9:15. I tend to do this a lot, I pad my running goals to allow myself the opportunity to exceed my expectations. I'm not sure if this is the best approach, and I didn't even realize I was doing it until today, but I'm pretty convinced that this is my tendency. I also noticed this yesterday while climbing at the gym. I tend to pick easier climbs I know I won't have any trouble with, or I'll go in the opposite extreme and get on something I know I can't climb, so there is no pressure to succeed. With me finally realizing what I do to ensure I succeed, I'm not sure how I want to handle it. I definitely think that I'm doing really well with the running the way I manage my goals, but sometimes I wonder if I could have excelled even more had I pushed myself further. With climbing though, I think that I'm holding myself back from excelling because of this fear of failure. I try to embrace the fear of failure to some degree, because it was the fear of not being able to run a half marathon that pushed me to lose 70lbs. I wouldn't never have gotten here had it not been for that fear. I can see positives with it, but there are some things where this fear holds me back. Definitely something I need to continue to watch and think about for the future.

2 x 3 Tempo Run

Today was my first 2 x 3 tempo run... last week I did my first 2 x 2 run and I really liked it. Today however, was quite a bit more challenging and I think maybe that's why I didn't like it AS much as the previous one. It might take some getting used to as well. It was chilly today also, I'm still working on figuring out the best way to dress as the temps continue to drop. I ran all last winter, but its amazing how bad my memory is because I can't seem to remember what I would wear when I went running in the dead of winter! Today I had a headband covering my ears, gloves, tank top, long sleeved top and long pants. I would say for most of the run I was in good shape, but there were some times where I was pretty cold. After my run I did some stretching for about 10 min, that was all it took for my fingers and lips to turn purple! It's amazing to me how cold I can get, inside, after running. I took a nice long, hot shower and then layered up in some comfy clothes for the rest of the night.

Next run is 400 meter repeats on Thursday, I've not done these before either, so this will be interesting!