The workout for this morning came at me faster than expected. Even though I did yesterday's workout in the evening, I had no choice but to do today's workout in the morning due to other family activities this evening. That meant a shorter than usual break between workouts.

Luckily, it was time for a "slow" 7 miler at 8:30 pace. I was actually pushing the pace a little closer to 8:15 pace in an effort to stay warm. The temperatures were still in the 30s when I left my house this morning around 6:30 AM. Rich had bowed out late last night, something about being tired, sore, aching from a run he did yesterday...whatever;-) It was still dark and I had opted to take my MP3 player with me to keep me company. I find music (as long as it's the kind of music that really gets you energized) to be really helpful for any kind of run that requires a faster than usual pace or really any pace that must be held for some time. Music takes my mind of the "work" aspect of a run and actually makes me wanna go faster.

I completed the 7 miles in 58 minutes, just like the workout required. Tomorrow's training schedule calls for a really tough workout. I basically have to run my target marathon pace for 12 miles. For me, that's tough. Never mind that it is a really fast pace for me, but it's "only" a training run. Motivation is going to be a big factor for me to be able to push that pace and even faster for 12 miles. We shall see...