That Run was Harder than it Looked on Paper

So last night I was going to blog about my afternoon run but, as a result of said run, I was too darn tired. Have you ever had one of those workouts where you look at it on paper and think, "Oh, that's not going to be too bad at all." And have you ever had one of those workout where you are completely and utterly spent when you finish? Last night's one hour run with a bunch of 1/2 marathon pace intervals and 5K pace intervals was a combination of both of the above. I didn't have to talk my way through the workout to get myself to finish it - the thought that lots of other triathletes were out there working their tails off to get ready for the season was motivation enough - but by the last set of intervals, I was counting down the minutes until they were over. There was only a 15 second difference in my pace between the 1/2 marathon intervals and the 5K intervals, but those 15 seconds hurt. It also made me realize that going out just a little faster than your pace plan in a race - even just 15 seconds per mile - can spell doom. Repeat after me: I will not go out too fast in a race, I will not go out too fast in a race.

Speaking of races - I have my first race of the year in TWO WEEKS! I'll be running around DC at the Rock and Roll Half Marathon to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th. This is a far cry from how we used to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at Saint Mike's back in college (green beer, green bagels, and a potato cannon at 6am - any takers?)

PS - I swam in my new lane again this morning and didn't get dropped or lapped. Thanks for being kind to me, new lanemates!