Tempo Runs and Bikram do not mix ...

Thursday, 6/16 - 3 miles

• 3.61 miles, 40' 06" minutes, 11' 05" min/mile average pace, 162 BPM average heart rate

Man oh man am I sore today! I really think that I pushed my body to a physical limit yesterday that it hasn't reached in a very long time. I know that I probably complained a bit ... alright I complained A LOT today. It wasn't meant to be a bad complaint but more of an acknowledgement of how much I actually pushed myself yesterday. I spent my entire work day hoping that the soreness would go away enough for me to go for my run tonight. I actually woke up early enough to go for my run this morning but when I got out of bed to turn the alarm off I could barely move my arms and legs. I decided that I should probably wait a few more hours to allow my body to recover. No matter how my body feels I am going to get my training runs in because that is the most important part of my training regiment. My goal for today's run is to push my body to the limit it reached during last Thursday's run. That is probably a lot to ask of my body especially based on how I felt this morning. I also want to keep my maximum heart rate below 178 BPM and my average heart rate above 170 BPM. If I achieve this level of effort, then my run will be a successful tempo run.

Tonight's run was right about where I wanted it to be. My average heart rate was not where I wanted but overall my effort level was correct for a tempo run. Once I started moving on the treadmill, the soreness I had been feeling all day seemed to relax and almost disappear, My workout began with the usual 5 minute walk at 3.0 mph with a 0% incline. While I was walking I also did some arm stretching trying to alleviate the tightness in my shoulders. After I did my 5 minute walk, I continued my warm up by starting my run at a 3.5 mph pace. I maintained that pace for 5 minutes before increasing the pace to 4.0 mph. After 5 minutes at that pace, I felt good enough to increase the pace to 4.5 mph. I maintained that pace for 30 minutes. I felt really good throughout most of the run. Towards the end of the run, I started to feel the soreness returning to my glutes. Not such a great feeling while trying to maintain my tempo pace. I ran through it and finished strong. My workout ended with a 10 minute walking cool down at 3.0 mph.