tempo run

I'm still stiff from Sunday's run. My quads are especially sore. I was going to do the workout tomorrow.

But the heavens opened up and the mercury went down. Only 18C and raining, how could I waste that? Having an extra day of recovery before the next tough workout was tempting too.

4X 10 min tempo, 2 min recovery.
1.32 miles
1.3 miles
1.3 miles
1.29 miles

Aerobically, it was easy. I felt hot after a while, but it was a different sort of hot: my shirt trapped the heat, not the entire atmos. However, my legs were constraining my gait somewhat. That was no surprise.

I was shocked, though, by a few minutes of effortlessness. My pacing was poor, I was prone to slacking off (more than usual); whenever I felt less sore, I looked at my Garmin and saw 8:XX. However, for a minute or two, something in my gait adjusted and my stride became very smooth. It felt slow, but it was in the 7:30 range every time I checked. It was such an ephemeral improvement that I dared not over-analyze; up-and-down motion was reduced, my centre of gravity seemed a little lower, there was something new going on with my thighs. Maybe so many muscles were sore that the wrapper was torn off some dormant muscles?

That was the kind of minute that inspires me, more than races or whatever. I will spend countless hours trying to recapture that perfect gliding motion.

Unfortunately, my Garmin memory filled up with exquisite timing; I ignored the beeping as long as I could, but eventually I stopped to delete some data and the improved form disappeared with it and the rest of the workout was a struggle.