5.0 miles - tempo run

Decided on a hard run today, but didn't want to tackle hill repeats like last week.

So I decided on a 3.1 mile (approximately a 5K) tempo run. I was aiming for a 9:30 pace, which would be about the fastest I've ever run a 5K. Wasn't sure how close I'd get, though.

Ran just over a mile to warmup and ended up at SE Spokane St., just under the Sellwood Bridge. From that point to the 3.5 mile marker on the Springwater Trail is 0.1 miles, and then the rest of the trail is conveniently marked at half-mile intervals. So, 1.5 miles out, and then come back to the 3.5 mile mark, gives me a total of 3.1 miles.

I put the 0.1 at the beginning because I had to cross an intersection. Starting, I could time it to avoid cars, but if I was coming back, in the groove, and had to stop for traffic - I'd be pissed.

Weather was nice - a bit humid but cool enough, and overcast. I'd been having mild allergy problems most of the day, so before I left the house I cleaned out my sinuses with my neti pot. Y'know, just in case. Wore the Brooks. No music.

And... I kept a good, strong pace the whole way. I saw the osprey dive-bomb about a foot above this one runner's head. She didn't even seem to notice.

I didn't deviate from about a 9:40 pace for at least the first half. Stopped to walk briefly, just long enough to turn around, at the, um, turn-around point, just because of other runners and bike traffic.

I did really well on de-focusing on my breathing. I also employed a visualization trick quite a bit: If a biker or runner passed me (and many did) I imagined a rubber band around my waist and theirs, and tried to feel it pulling me along behind them.

In the last mile there were almost no runners or bikers passing me, so I imagined the rubber band around the telephone poles, and, when I was within sight of them, the half-mile markers.

I did stop for about 15 steps on the last half-mile. Dammit. I was able to motivate myself back up to running speed.

I finished the total distance in 30:06, giving me an average 9:42 pace for the distance. Fast, but not the fastest I've ever been. Still, 18 seconds per mile faster than my normal training pace is good for me.

After getting some water in the Oak Pioneer Church courtyard, I ran, slowly, the mile-plus back home and called it a day.