"Poison" – Bell Biv Devoe

The only reason why I kept running last night ... as I suddenly felt poisoned by a Sloooooooow Potion (probably slipped to me by the crazy druids at Parc Astérix while we were on our trip)... was that this song came on and jarred me back to life. It isn't that it's such a great running song, but it transports me back to 1990... when I was in my prime. lol  Can I say that? Or is that too cheesy for words? Both? When I feel like I'm in my prime, I feel invincible and fast and nonstop...

non. stop.

So my apologies to Emz for stealing her titling style... I couldn't help myself... it was just too fitting. I needed to honor the juice that spurred me on to finishing the first of my two 2-mile tempo pieces.

(and if you don't know who Emz is... well, she is a training machine trapped in a gorgeous, funny blonde mother's incredibly fit body... go check her out here if you haven't already).

This is my third run this month. I did nothing while on the trip except walk millions of miles and climb tons of stairs (here and here). My Tenner at the beginning of the month was a good test of my mettle. My run on Friday was a sweet, mellow return. Last night, I kicked my own booty... but good. For me, anyway :P

Here are the numbers for those who care... lol... there probably aren't many of you, but I care and will refer back to this at some point in the future... probably.

After a mile and a quarter warm-up and a few drills and striders, I did my first two-mile tempo piece. Both were supposed to be done at 9:24 pace (my 'threshold' according to the Automated Training Program) with 2 minutes off in between.

I have a weird route, so the "splits" don't mean much except to me for finding consistency. All the 2:30's cover the same stretch of ground, and the other numbers cover the other stretch of ground, and when added together they make a half-mile, which is noted by the parentheses:

2:38
1:34 (4:13)  first half
2:31
1:42 (8:27)  first mile
1:41
2:31 (12:39) mile and a half
1:32
2:39 (16:50)  second mile

So... kind of on the fast side. I needed to rein it in a bit. I have got to get settled on a good pace for my race. I need it to feel like second nature to me. Or I will not finish the race well. And I want to finish it well.

Second of my two-mile tempo pieces:

2:40
1:34 (4:14)
2:33
1:45 (8:33)
1:41
2:39 (12:53)
1:37
2:45 (17:15)

A little better. I think I am just too dang rested.

This second piece finished with me listening to "Satisfaction" (Rolling Stones). It was perfect. I started to think that maybe I have turned into a 50-year old guy. Stones, Doors, Dead while running. What is up with that?

And I think yesterday I did set a new record... 5 posts in one day. I think I am Muffy :(  click on it if you don't know what I mean... you will laugh... or cry.