Taunting your nemesis

I dialed up a hard fast tempo run. It was lunchtime and I have been hitting my paces but I had some trepidation. I did not feel like running fast. I would have preferred a nice comfortable run. The sun was out and the temperature was in the high 70’s / low 80’s. Just about perfect for a 5-mile tempo.

To help with this tempo run I enlisted the help of my ‘virtual nemesis’. We don’t always get along. He always goes out too slow. I usually get a nice buffer between us and then he starts to chase me down. He can be relentless.

So I dialed up the workout and headed out to the trace. The legs were surprisingly well rested. They did not ache. They felt good. The last time that I did this workout, I had trouble getting up to speed. I had to make up a lot of time in the last two miles. Today I was able to get on pace quickly and stay on pace. I developed a small buffer between the nemesis and me but I never had a comfort zone. As I said, he is known for making last minute comebacks.

The first 2 ½ miles were, dare I say, comfortable. I knew that it would not last. The running fast turn, it turned from fast to hard in those last couple of mile. I was able to preserve. That last half mile, although not red lined, was difficult. I kept the pace high and finished with success.

I did a little mental fist pump. I looked down at the Garmin and it said that I had won the workout. Gasping for breath, I asked the nemesis, “Is that all you got?”