Great ... I Said 'GREAT' ... Week!!!

Today's Workout ...
            Course:  Ankeny, IA - Downtown Out & Back
                Miles:  10            
      Total Time:  1:11:51
        Avg Pace:  7:08
            Avg HR:  163
         Workout:   Fast Tempo Run
               Temp:  62 Degrees, Humidity 64%, Wind 9SE

I've probably sounded like a broken record this week - but this has been one of the best stretches of running I can remember in a while!  Everything is really beginning to click for a great summer of hopefully getting stronger and faster.  I'm healthier than I've been in a long time, and feel fluid and powerful when I run.  Such a good feeling!

Today was my second Tempo Run of the week.  Usually I'll always do a Tempo Run on Tuesdays, recover on Wednesdays, and then either another Tempo Run or speed or hill work on Thursdays.  Today I was in Ankeny, Iowa - just North of Des Moines - which is one of the flattest towns I travel to, so I opted for another Tempo Run.  It went really well - following are the splits ...

1)8:39    2)7:37    3)6:48    4)6:35    5)6:40    6)6:22    7)6:36    8)6:46    9)6:58    10)8:08

There were a couple of really good things about this run, and quite a few I need to work on.

The Good:  The speed is getting better and better.  I'm glad at this point I can real off 7 miles under 7:00/pace without too much trouble.  Also, for this run, I started the faster pace at mile 3 as opposed to later in the run.  I want to start building speed a little sooner in races and this was a good sign.


Needs Improvement: I'm all over the board on pace.  This is easily fixable, but for a stronger Tempo Run I need to find a pace and stick with it instead of ramping up and down.  Also, to get where I want to be for Project 3:09, I want to be able to maintain 15 miles at 6:45/pace ... I'm no where near that right now.  But it's a long summer and hopefully with the right combination of strength and conditioning, speed and tempo work, and long run after long run - I'll get there.

Also - I've had a lot of questions lately about the change from heel strike to forefoot strike like type of shoes,  miles per week, pain involved, etc - I'll write a post on these next week.  But all in all, it has been a relative success for me.  Hope your running week has been as positive as mine!
... be great today!