In the Search for Shade...Tempo Run Fail

Tuesday was an easy day of stretching. It was Wednesday that posed a problem for me.


After dropping my son off at summer camp, it was almost 9am. Charlotte temperature was already 78 degrees with 71% humidity. I had planned to run 6 miles with a friend but she was running behind schedule. So I headed for Freedom Park, a very popular spot for Charlotte area runners.

"Oh hell no!"

When I got there, I did form drills and was intent on keeping the pose running form. For those of you unfamiliar, The Running Pose is a whole body pose, which vertically aligns shoulders, hips and ankles with the support leg, while standing on the ball of the foot. As I started running down the tunnel, I was thankful for the shade. Jamming to my alternative rock playlist, I was stunned when I reached the end of the tunnel at only .7 miles. I stepped out into the blazing sun onto Morehead Street and contemplated running in the hot sun. But the voice in my head took on that "black girl attitude" and said, "Oh hell no!" I turned my butt around and ran back. As I was running, I realized I was not going to get in 6 miles at Freedom Park. When I reached my car, I drove off and headed to a greenway, McAlpine Creek. I remember reading that this greenway was 4 miles long and I was confident that it was fully shaded.


And it was not only shaded, it was a beautiful run too. Still jamming to alt rock, I decided to work on the negative split tempo run as opposed to race pace tempo. So, instead of running at a half marathon pace and ending with a 1 mile cool down (race pace), I decided I was going to "pull it out" and run full speed at the last half of the run (negative split). I was a bit frustrated that my workout was cut short so I really wanted to push myself.


Let me tell you, that didn't go too well. It was 10am, hotter and even more humid. Obviously, the heat had affected my reasoning ability because the voice in my head didn't speak up. Where was that black chick when I needed her?


When I reached the last half of my run, I was suffering. I tried my best to pick up the pace, but I couldn't. I was too hot, too tired and it didn't even occur to me to do a cool down jog. I was hell bent on running as fast as I could. I finished 3.8 miles in 45:01 at a pace of 11:47. That sucked but I was glad to be in my air conditioned car.


But according to my training calendar, my workout was not done for the day.


I needed to include plyometrics and headed home to do them with the man who does them best - Shaun T! I am in love with him; yes, my husband knows and doesn't really care. :) We worked out with him live last year and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I popped in the Insanity! Plyometrics Cardio Circuit DVD and got ready knock it out. If you're unfamiliar with Insanity!, here's a YouTube video for you.


When I first heard Shaun's voice, I was thinking, "man, I missed this?" I was tired but excited and determined to hang in there. I'd owned the DVDs for about a year and completed 2 cycles so I was very familiar with the moves. However, when we got to the last set of intervals, I about died! I was sweating profusely and the thought of doing one more suicide was heart wrenching. I gotta confess, I just watched the last interval. I was on the floor panting loudly and sweating like a pig. Even my dog, Stitch, looked worried.


Workout over, I finally mustered the energy to turn off the DVD. Eventually, I got up to shower, wash my hair and complete the days errands.

Workout Wifey^TM