Threshold run (Ocean Beach) - 2 x 15 at half marathon pace (6:50) with 1 minute recovery. This is the hardest (AND LAST!) threshold workout of my training cycle. I did this same workout last Thursday on the treadmill (wild fires, smoke, hot). I needed to see how I would fare outdoors.
I did the first 15 minutes at 6:52 and the second 15 minutes at 6:51. While I was running, I was disappointed that this pace did not feel effortless. But then reminded myself that if a threshold run felt like an easy run, I wouldn't be running fast enough.
To get myself to relax, I surveyed the way my body felt from head to toe and relaxed everything one by one: the head, face, shoulders, arms, breathing, legs, knees, calves, and feet. Everything felt good, so I told myself, "This is what The Run feels like." I visualized feeling this way during the race and pushing through to the end.
Kinda hokey I suppose, but when I was a gymnast, I always visualized my routines and especially nailing the hardest tricks before I competed them. It works!
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