Tempo, Tempo, Tempo!!!

Tonight was a tempo night. Well, actually, truth be known, last night was tempo night. However, due to a migraine and another appointment I decided to just push it to tonight.

So what exactly does tempo mean? Well, if we go by Hal Higdon's definition that would be, "A tempo run is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace... A tempo run of 30 to 40 minutes would begin with 10-15 minutes easy running, build to peak speed during the next 10-20 minutes, then finish with 5-10 minutes easy running..."

I couldn't actually remember exactly what my schedule called for. I knew I was to run for 60 minutes and that I had some sets at tempo pace. So what did I do? I just started running until my arse cheeks were bouncing off my heels and figured, yup, that'd be about tempo pace!

I checked my heart rate at this point and it confirmed I was running close to my 10 k pace heart rate, which I assumed was tempo pace. See, I didn't read the Hal Higdon definition beforehand and although I've been running for three years now, I never seem to be able to remember all the darned definitions! So I just kind of winged it!

The run felt pretty good. I think being able to do a faster pace then normal was aided by the fact that I actually wore my MP3 player. Normally I like to run sans tunes and just listen to all that nature has to offer. This time though I needed a wee boost to get me up to speed. Nothing like Jane's Addiction, Sex Pistols and Anthrax to get your groove on!

I zipped around the neighborhoods and ended up seeing my friend Esther. I stopped and chatted for a wee bit then started running again. Funny thing - in that short break I seemed to forget how to run. I kid you not. I started up with my running and the next thing you know I couldn't get my arms and legs to work together. What the?!?! It was almost as if I was doing the 'Elaine Dance' having a leg fling out here, and arm swinging over there. It was nuts. I almost tripped even.

Thankfully the lack of coordination only lasted about five minutes. Five very loooong minutes. The rest of the run went really well. I truly think my 'I am strong, I am powerful' mantra has been working in behind the scenes. I felt really strong on my run tonight. This is a good sign. Afterall, the clock is slowly ticking down to 'the big race'. Eeep.

I kept up the pace for the majority of the run. Which, after reading my schedule and Hal Higdon's definition was likely a little bit more than I needed to. It's all good though. I will call it a 'money in the bank' run. Hopefully my legs didn't mind it either as I have another run tomorrow night!

Peace out my friends!