Toe-Shoes Tina: A Terrific Tempo Run

Distance:  5 miles
Pace:  7:56/mile
Wine:  2 glasses of Merlot

If you read this blog, you know the level of my devotion to MapMyRun.  I've begun to doubt it recently, though, thinking maybe it is becoming a cheerleader for me instead of an objective observer.  A few weeks ago, I did my speedwork on a dirt track at a local middle school while Daughter #1 had soccer practice on the field in the center of the track.  I ran 12 laps, which should have been 3 miles.  It ended up being 3.25 miles, according to MapMyRun.  I chalked it up to running toward the outside lane and not running a straight line.  The following week, I ran on a more official-looking high school track that had real lines lanes and painted markings.  I ran 4 laps in the inner lane.  1.06 miles.  Ruh Roh.  If MapMyRun gives me an extra .06 every mile, my very long runs are going to be very off.

(Scooby is not modeling desert-appropriate running gear.)

I did what any good obsessive compulsive would do and frantically Googled upon returning home.  First, I Googled track markings to see if perhaps the track was longer than I thought.  I could not make heads or tails of the articles I found on track markings, so I reluctantly went after the more likely option and typed "MapMyRun inaccurate."  Oh my.  A troubling number of results came up.  According to this New York Times article, it is common for cell phone GPS apps to be inaccurate by varying degrees.  Some things make it worse, including routes with curves.  Okay, great.  Maybe my GPS was just wrong on the track, which is curvier than Anna Nicole Smith.  The article made me think I should test my phone app by checking it against an internet mapping function.  This is hard for me to do as I prefer not to run on streets, opting instead for green belts and canals, which you cannot easily map online.  I did it for the first time during my 10 mile run through the mountains (the one with bear spray).  When I returned from my run to compare the routes, I was nervous.  What if it was only 9 miles?  That would seriously impact my  pace!  Fortunately, it was spot on.

With one accurate run under my hydration belt (okay, that's a lame joke, I don't have a hydration belt), I decided to test it on my 5 mile tempo run today.  I ran streets the whole way so I could confirm my distance upon returning home.  I left a few minutes before 6:00 am.  Outside it was dark, but fabulous.  The temperature was a blissful 57 degrees and a full moon hung in the air.  When I began my run, there was not even a hint of dawn on the horizon.  That may sound miserable to some, but this is my kind of running weather.

(My run looked a lot like this today.)

I was hoping to sustain an 8:15 pace.  I did my first mile in 8:02.  On the one hand, it was faster than my (somewhat aggressive) goal pace and I have a bad habit of going out too fast.  On the other hand, I felt A-MAZ-ING and thought I could sustain the pace.  Turns out, I was right.  In fact, I sped up.  My last four miles were 7:58, 7:42, 7:57, and 7:47.  My overall pace was sub-8:00.  You can understand why I almost didn't double-check this with an Internet map.  I didn't want it to find out my 5 mile run was really 4.5, which would severely affect my pace in an upward fashion.  What if my MapMyRun was just telling me what I wanted to hear?

(I need an app that will tell me the truth about my pace, like Grumpy Cat.  GrumpyCatMyRun?)

I sucked it up and logged my route into the computer.  5.01 miles:  sweet!  My GPS isn't blowing smoke up my ass, I really am fast!  (My sub-3 hour marathon friends can shut it right now, my pace is fast for me, a semi-reformed non-runner).