10K - FAIL

I'm teaching myself to run all over again, and it ain't pretty. For the past couple of weeks I've been 'cherry picking' some Crossfit Endurance workouts do to get back into the swing of things. I have a decent schedule set up with 2 swim, 2 bike, and 2 run workouts each week. Most of the workouts are interval based while one is a time trial (TT) and one Tempo. I have Tuesday and Saturday as my Tempo/TT days where I'll do one or the other for either the swim, bike, or run, but not both (ex. 2 swims - 1 TT, and 1 Tempo) in the same week.

This week I was on tap for a run TT. I put it off from a couple weeks earlier knowing I wasn't ready for it, and settled on today to get the deed done. I put it off until the evening before being so annoyed by the dogs (plural since we're dog sitting this week) that I had to get out of the house. What a better excuse than a 10k run!?!

Believe me, I couldn't think of far better excuses, but I was ready to get it done, so I was off.

I figured I'd warm up around my neighborhood before heading down toward the Mall, but figured loops of Lincoln Park would be better. Why? Because I'm an idiot, yes, but because I wouldn't have to deal with tourists, stop lights forcing me to run in place (I don't do that.. honest..), and hills. I just had to deal with uppity Capitol Hill-ites and their little dogs. It wasn't a huge deal as the sidewalks are wide enough to accommodate 4 people across and I've become accustomed to jumping upon the 'dirt path' or into the road.

So here's how it went (summarized) by loop:

1 - Hey lookatme! I'm Pose running!
2 - Still running, check watch.. hmm..
3 - For 8pm it's a tad warm out. I should've hydrated before starting.
4 - Check watch again.. hmm
5 - FOR THE LOVE OF MARY, I'M DYING!!
6 - Someone went out a tad too fast. How 'bout a 5K TT??
7 - About have way there, guess I'll finish.
8 - Check watch, dodge person moving into my 'lane' when she heard the panting.
9 - Music would be nice.
10 - FOR THE LOVE OF MARY, I'M DYING!!
11 - Toast
12 - See my girlfriend and wave 2 fingers to signify laps left. She promises to rub my screaming hammies and calves when I finish. I pick up the pace by :05/mile.
13 - Foaming at the mouth. As much as it feels like I'm 'running', it's an awkward shuffle.
14 - Ready to be done and I have no kick left.

I finished in 56:22 and hoped to finish around 53:xx. Not my best performance, but not what I was aiming for.

I hope to use this time as well as the McMillan Running Calculator to better estimate my pace for speed work and tempo runs.

Goal is to get that 10K time down, not feel like crap, and foam at the mouth less.

We'll see which happens first.