BASELINE

I guess I’m so into the habit of taking Wednesday’s off lately, that I took yesterday off without even thinking about it. I brought my cloths with me and thought I’d make it out over lunch. The next thing I know I’m eating my lunch and the thought of going for a run never crossed my mind.

It is September 29th, so I shouldn’t be too surprised by this morning’s 40 degree temperature. Someone at work said it was 18 in northern Minnesota. Now I like cold weather as much as the next Minnesotan, but that’s too cold, too early. For me, 40-45 would be perfect for a marathon. However, it doesn’t look like the cooler temps will hang around for this weekend’s Twin Cities Marathon. Right now they’re predicting lows of 60, which means it’ll probably be around 65 at the start. Highs are supposed to reach 77. At least it sounds like it’ll be overcast. I told a friend that I’ve raced in crappy conditions too many times to worry about what other people will be experiencing.

This morning I ran 7 miles with 4 miles at an “up-tempo” pace. Actually, I was planning on a tempo run (using the definition of 10k pace + 15 seconds). Using my less than stellar 6:22 pace from Saturday, that’d mean I should run around 6:35-6:40 pace. After warming up for 2 miles I managed splits of 7:18, 7:00, 6:50 and 6:50. Again, I didn’t look at my splits until afterwards, so the “disappointment” didn’t sink in until I finished.

Okay, disappointed is too strong a word. But man I was working to hard “just” to be running 6:50 pace. I thought I was “flying” during my last 2 miles. Maybe I can blame being tired from Tuesday’s workout (although I felt okay), not being warmed up properly (this is most likely the case), or my mile markers not being accurate. Anyway, instead of getting down on myself I told myself that I now have a baseline for this type of workout. Besides, you can’t be disappointed when you have nothing to compare the workout too.