Today was my first scheduled tempo run. I managed to hold a 5 mph pace for 20 minutes. That might not sound like much but it is indeed. The object of a tempo run is to maintain a pace that is uncomfortable, actually intending to be a tiny bit unbearable and hold this discomfort for as long as you can. The wise schedule, to keep me from killing myself, capped this tempo portion at 20 minutes even though the entire run lasted a little over 40 minutes and covered about 3.5 miles. It is a confidence builder and I feel great about today.
Now let's address the one small sticking point. Twice during the tempo run I had to take a 20 second or so walking break out of shear terror. I haven't convinced myself totally that I can hold that pace. Even though my mind says I can, my body is saying, "You're gonna bonk. You are going to start huffing and puffing and embarrass yourself in front of the people in this gym." My inner voice is nasty. And as soon as I can get the voices in my head to settle down, I will be fine. My body knows what my head won't admit. We are ready to except the pain and discomfort of training. It's moving past barriers that build you up. I'm ready to face the pain. Now if I can get my other self to except it, I will be OK with the world.
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