i just might be getting faster

i made up for yesterday's missed skipped tempo run this afternoon when i slid out of work early. for the first mile, i held back a little, and then kicked it up a notch for a few (6) tempo-paced miles. those middle six miles were tough, and i was on a relatively flatter route than i usually take for tempo runs. on past tempo runs, my hr hangs around 172ish, but today it was in the 180's, which is where it's supposed to be anyway based on the "87-92% target hr" rule.

mile 1 - 7:52, 156
mile 2 - 7:37, 179
mile 3 - 7:38, 183
mile 4 - 7:37, 181
mile 5 - 7:41, 182 *ah yes, this is what my tempo pace is supposed to be
mile 6 - 7:31, 182
mile 7 - 7:30, 183
mile 8 - 8:03, 162

sometime ago i got 7:41 as my goal tempo pace from one of those online running calculators, so that's been my goal for the past 5 months every time i head out on a tempo run. most days it seems like i've struggled to hit the pace, and while today was tough and uncomfortable, i was easily beating my goal pace mile after mile. (and my hr was still "within the zone", so i know i wasn't overdoing it.) i just might be gaining a little bit of speed after all. although, today's route was less hilly than normal and that could have bought me a few seconds too, maybe? either way, i ran hard, which is the point of these lovely tempo runs anyway.

ahh yes, and then there was mile 8... i was going to pull back a little anyway, and of course my stomach has other plans. i actually had to stop a couple of times and convince it to pull it together and let me get back to the car. it's fine now, no worries. we had a chat. (and i made it do core work for extra punishment.)

pm run: 8 miles, 1:01:32 (7:41 avg pace), avg/max hr (176/190)