Tempo Run. One Hour. Boise Greenbelt.

I lost a week among the hustle.  It's not that I haven't run.  I have.  I've even taken some photos and edited them as well.  But nothing has stuck and the light was never very fair. Drab fall photos forced between shifts at work.  Training has been going well though.  My recent long run was just under sixteen miles and it took me two hours and twenty minutes to complete it. That's a pretty dainty pace, but the sun was warmer than i had thought, I had less water than i needed and far to few calories to keep my strength high. My next long run will have to be altered.  I'll need to drop food at some point.  Take a break and ingest some tortillas or a ball of quinoa.  My overall  pace is improving as well.  I've been pushing myself to hold faster paces for long distances.  I've gone to the parks and done some Fartlek training--run, sprint, walk, repeat.  These days are some of the hardest, but they do so much for lung and leg strength that the pain is clearly worth the effort.

Today I ran seven miles in an hour break between my shifts at work.  This is why i don't have photos.  I've been working these twelve hour days for a few weeks now and running on my breaks has really been a delightful break.  It boosts my energy, gives me a lapse from the normal daily routine, and is a productive way to blow off any stress associated with the job.  The first half of my run was conservative.  I paced along at nine minute mile feeling my body's pains, noting where the evenings stretches would have to focus.  At the half way point I turned about and pushed the run as fast as I could.  At peaks in pace I was running sub seven minute miles (really very fast for me), and my average pace on the way home was a seven twenty mile. 

So, training advances.  This Sunday I will be running the City of Trees Half Marathon.  I'm feeling pretty stoked on the event and expect to run the event quickly.  My official PR for a Half Marathon is one hour and forty seven minutes.  I'm sure I'll destroy it this Sunday.