Just do it!

I think I have a mental road block against running race pace during regular workouts. Sure, I can do it during strict intervals like mile repeats, and I know there was at least one tempo run in the summer where I did a good job running race pace, but otherwise I just have this huge sense that I can't run race pace during training...I think it's really just mental and not physical. Everything seems totally impossible to me until I've actually done it, then it seems easy. So I've decided that one of the things I'm really going to try to work on is pushing back against this sense that I can't be fast day to day. Of course, I need to balance the fast days with the easier days, but the idea is that I'm trying to teach myself that these mental limits I put on myself don't actually exist. Today was the first step towards breaking those barriers that I've set for myself.

Today's Workout: AM long run
Summary:

• The set was a 2 mile warm up at 9:30-10:00, 3 x (1.5 mi @ 8:00-8:30, 1.0 mi recovery @ 9:30-10:00), variable distance warm down for a total of 10 miles.
• Total: 10.13 mi, 1:32:56, 9:11 pace
• Splits by interval:
• WU: 9:43
• Repeat 1: 8:28/9:40
• Repeat 2: 8:20/9:57
• Repeat 3: 8:24/9:52
• WD: 9:52

Hit Rate: 11/12 (91.6%)

I was really happy with how I did, especially because I chose not to try and go around more difficult terrain or adjust pace based on terrain. In the end I figured it would all balance out and it did and I'm really proud of the effort. It was hard, but actually not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I definitely felt like I couldn't push my legs to do much more by the last repeat, but I got there, and that's what's important. 

I had been really scared of this workout at the beginning of the day. Even during the warm up and during the first recovery interval, I had been thinking to myself that there was no way I could pull this off. But I did, so I guess it just goes to show that having a "just do it!" attitude really does work. And now I know that I'm capable of running a workout like this, which is really amazing to me! Another random amazing thing is how casual a 10 mile workout feels nowadays. I remember when I used to get really worked up for every 10 miler I ran but it's becoming more and more of just a comfortable workout distance for me. 12 mi is still intimidating, but 10 I can do. That is also something I'm really proud of.

I was surprisingly blown out after this workout though. I felt like a zombie most of the day, just tired to the core. I took a nap in the afternoon which helped a bit but honestly I don't feel like I really rebounded from it until after dinner. I'm feeling much better now, but there's only a tiny bit of time left in my day before I need to hit the sack. Planning an early morning so I can get a good quality lift in before the day starts. Got to try to get some studying done now. 

Much love,

Jess