A much better run...

I woke up at the butt crack of dawn this morning for my tempo run. I can't really do a tempo run in my neighborhood because of steep hills and a gravel trail. I drove to Lake Murray to run on a nice, paved bike path. This was the first time I have run at Lake Murray since before the marathon. During training, I was really tired of that run (it is an out-and-back totalling 10k) and pretty much boycotted that spot. But this morning, I really enjoyed it. It didn't seem quite as boring as it did. I just needed a break from it.

Honestly, I was looking forward to running it with my Garmin. AKA ALice at Hefferblog calls Lake Murray "Lake Boy Part." When I read her blog explaining that nickname, I laughed out loud. Now I have my own GPS drawing of a "boy part." Well, since I turned around a little more than a half mile before the end, it is not a complete drawing, but you get the picture...



When I started, it was dark. I don't have a fancy light yet, so I carried a little LED flashlight. It worked ok, since it was pretty nearly dawn. It was more for peace of mind than for actually lighting the path. I forgot my pepper spray (a fact that my dear husband was quite annoyed about). Luckily, there were no German Shepherds or coyotes. The only wild animals at Lake Murray are Shih Tzus, squirrels and bunnies. It was busier than I expected. Mostly, there were seniors walking their little dogs and women, like me, getting in an early morning run.

I had a good tempo run-- it was the first time I ran for a decent period of time trying to hit a certain pace. My RW training plan said to do one warm-up mile, three at 8:54, and then a cool-down mile. I can't quite hit the pace exactly, but I came pretty close. Here are the splits:
Mile 1- 9:32
Mile 2- 8:47
Mile 3- 8:43
Mile 4- 8:44
Mile 5- 9:42