Instagram & A Really Good Tempo

Wednesday morning easy 8 mile recovery run

Hey, I'm on Instagram!  And so far I really like it.  Mainly because it's a site dedicated to my favorite thing in the whole world ... PICTURES OF ME!!!  Since I've been active on it for a few days, I've found that it's mainly another social media avenue to feed my constant need for attention and approval from internet people I've never met. But honestly, I love photos and photography, so actually it's a pretty cool way to check out other pics and share a few of mine.  So, if you want to see endless pics of me and my family, and probably quite a few of Jack our chocolate lab, you can follow me at ...

running50after40

As far as actually running and training to complete "50 after 40", I had a really good and extremely positive Tempo Run this morning.  I've felt like most of my speed and leg turnover has been pretty good this summer.  But to run fast marathons in the fall, I really needed to start linking together some faster tempo mileage for longer distances.  As a rule of thumb, if I can run 10 consecutive miles at a 6:30/avg pace, I typically end up with a pretty solid marathon.  So for the last few weeks I've been trying to build to that standard.  I'm nowhere near where I need to be, but this morning's run went really well as I put together 7 miles at a 6:27/avg pace.  Here are the splits ...

Running through downtown Omaha on Thursday morning

Thursday Tempo Run - Omaha, NE
2.5 mile warm up
6:52   
6:26   
6:26   
6:19   
6:30   
6:18   
6:20
1.5 mile cool down

It was only about 68 degrees this morning in Omaha, Nebraska, with about 86% humidity ... so really not bad conditions for running.  I warmed up in downtown Omaha, which is a little hilly, but ran the 7 faster miles across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, IA, which is really flat.  Plus, I'm 100% certain I avoided contracting a venereal disease, or being inadvertently stabbed by a junkie's stray hypodermic needle while in Council Bluffs ... which is always a bonus! (worst city ever ... no apologies!!!)

Averaging 6:27 over 7 miles is a really good sign for my training.  In full disclosure, I did stop the clock once for about 30 seconds to track down my water bottle, but other than that, it was a pretty legit run.  It was obviously tough, but I didn't feel dead at the end, like I could have squeezed one or two more out at this pace if necessary.  I'll recover with 4 very easy miles tonight after work.

So it was a good morning running in Omaha!  Now, if you need me, I'll be snapping more selfies than a teenage girl!  Have a great weekend!
... Be Great Today!