Real Runners Do it at 5 a.m.

My morning started off with my alarm going off...

CRAP! Did I oversleep???!?!!?!

No, it's only 4:35 a.m., I have to be at Greenlake in 20 minutes to meet up with Chris....

Uh oh, where are my pants? Where's my sportsbra? Why is little kitty so cute and cuddly? Oh, wait, gotta go....

Running greenlake at 5 a.m. is not quite what I imagined... it was actually better!

There were a lot less people than I expected... There were probably 10 people total, and 5 dogs. It was a lot darker than I guessed 5 a.m. would be, but it made the whole experience almost surreal. It felt like a dream. No cyclists, no strollers, no groups 5 people wide... only the truly insane! And I felt like an honored guest :)

I had forgotten how much I loved running in the morning. It's great, I usually don't even wake up until I've been running for about 10 minutes and by then I have no say in the matter, the body just goes.

An apparent regular at the 5 a.m. party at Greenlake was our running coach, Jonna! She came up from behind us and we chatted for a little while we finished out our run and hers was just beginning. It was actually really good to see her there. I felt a definite sense of camaraderie. I feel like I've transcended into the athletic world where working out isn't just something I do because I have to, I do it because I want to. Right comrades?

Here's a great example: Last Saturday we ran over 9.5 miles. My longest run to date. I was really shocked at how quickly I ran the first half, soooooooo I decided to spend my Sunday morning running 2.89 miles as fast as I could (within reason). I did it in 29 minutes! Can you imagine if I had done it on fresh legs?

I don't know what I'm trying to prove to myself, that I can do it? Or that a year ago I couldn't even run a quarter of a mile without dying?

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Last night I did my tempo run at Burke Gilman. So 20 minutes of my run is supposed to be really hard. I did about 13 minutes at a pretty slow warm up pace, then I started my tempo run. I ran about 13 minutes out (at tempo pace, which fluctuated but was mostly fast for me). Then I turned around and those 7 minutes of fast-paced running were pretty hard. I think I checked my watch every 30 seconds just waiting for it to be over. And finally it was.

I slowed down into a comfortable jogging pace. As I started getting closer to finishing I realized I was about a mile and half away from my car and 15 minutes from being done with the run entirely. Well, a mile and a half in 15 minutes seemed totally doable, so I stepped it up a little. I think mild discomfort is what you call it, but I was able to keep up the pace. I got back to my car only 1 minute slower than it took me to get out on the trail.

Not bad, eh comrades?

I wonder if the point of tempo runs is to make you realize that pushing hard becomes easier the more you do it? What does this mean for a 13-mile run? Should I be pushing hard the whole time? Is that realistic? Or should I be coasting in my easy pace... reserving energy?

I think specifically for the Vancouver Half, I'll have to pace myself until we get to the hill in the center of the course... then it's all or nothing!!!