Funless Friday

Friday already - which has become the reality check day for my aggressive race goals. All the other days are fine; the increased mileage, the faster/longer tempo runs, the marathon pace long runs. but this 10k race pace stuff is killing me.

Plan was 2x2miles at 6:25 pace. Did 1x2miles last week and it was horrible.

1-1.5mile warmup and then I eventually decided I had to start. Focused on settling down into a steady pace and tried to keep things controlled. First mile went by in 6:26 and it wasn't too bad. Picked things up a step in the second mile and ran a 6:21. So 12:47 for the 2 miles. That last half mile wasn't nice, but it wasn't horrible - definitely better than last week.

Walked/jogged for 4 minutes and then it was time to go again. Within half a mile I was hurting, and off pace (6:32ish). I knew right then that a 10k at this pace is unlikely to happen in 10 days and considered bagging the workout. However, I thought back to all that crappy time spent pool running in the summer and decided I could manage another 10 minutes of pain. Picked it up a bit and finsihed the 3rd mile in 6:24. Not feeling very good though. Mile 4 was zero fun (none of that runner's high people talk about). First half was just tough but the last half mile was pretty much a sprint effort - hurt more than anything I've run recently. I don't think I could have gone much quicker if I was running for a medal. But the last mile was my fastest at 6:21, with the second half being at 6:13 pace. 12:46 for the 2 miles.

So on paper, a successful workout - hit both 2mile times, and got faster throughout the workout. But the thought of 6.2 miles without any rest gaps is pretty daunting, and to be honest I don't think I'm ready for a sub 40 minute 10k. I'll try to run a sub 20 minute 5k (3.1 miles) next Friday at the school track, which I think I can manage, but doing that twice on raceday will be an adventure.