Today's run was just great. It was the first time in a long time when the impending tempo run on the schedule was an excitement rather than a threat. I have said before that tempo runs always make me unduly nervous because I know they are never as bad as they seem. Well today was even better than that. I jogged about 1.5 miles to warm up, and I was a bit nervous because my inner thighs were a bit sore from yesterday's weights. But as soon as I picked up the pace, my stride just felt "on" and the first mile passed by quickly - and I actually had to rein it in a bit as I started at about 7:30 pace and didn't want to overdo it. It was the first run in a long time where I actually felt like I was focusing on speed - all the runs in Israel were challenging enough with hills and heat that I never felt like I was pushing the pace. Don't get me wrong, they were all great workouts, but there's something great about just feeling like I'm flying on the road.

My not-fresh legs were definitely the limiting factor, because my heart rate and my breathing weren't strained at all by the end. My legs were glad to be done after 5 miles, and looking forward my next tempo run won't follow a lifting day, so I hope I feel even better next week!

8.3 miles in 1:07:21 - 1.3 in 11:09, 5 in 38:28, 2 in 17:45