Tempo Run – Take II

Two weeks ago, I ran my first tempo run of this marathon cycle. During the run, I focused on keeping my heart rate between 160 and 170 for the entire effort.

What I found was that toward the end of that run, I was pushing up and over 7 minutes per mile just to keep my heart rate with in my expected range.

Flash forward to this past Tuesday. My early miles were slower as I worked to follow the same pattern and keep my heart rate in the same 10 beat range. Strangely, the weather was just as hot and just as humid, but after the slower opening miles, the reminder of the miles was faster.

Two weeks ago, my total running time for the 10 miles – 8 mile tempo was 69 minutes. This time around, it was 67 minutes.

Maybe I was just having a good day or maybe I am adjusting to the heat and humidity. I hope that it is the latter of the two.

My marathon training is just ramping up. I need some positive vibes to help keep me motivated throughout the entire training cycle.

 

Sharing one thought at time,

The Cool Down Runner