Tempo - 7 miles @ MP, 10 total. Stepped on a curb wrong.

Tempo (marathon pace) day for me.

I'm still feeling out where my exact MP target should be. 

For 3:10 marathon: 7:15

For 3:15 marathon: 7:26

I'll probably need a 3:13ish, so somewhere in between is likely where it'll fall, but I'd prefer to be running these at 3:10 paces. 

The Strava shows it best. 

(GAP = Grade-adjusted pace from Strava, accounts for elevation by math. Works so-so for me.)

Warmup mile 1, then 7 mile MP effort for 2-9, then cooldown 9-10. 

Average MP pace 7:17. My route is a gently rolling course so that it's pretty close to what I'll expect at Napa Valley. 

I honestly hoped for better today - this was a pretty tough effort for me. My HR went from 145 to 155 during those 7 miles, which is half-marathon effort pace for me. It's supposed to be pretty hard, and not as easy as on race-day MP, but my HR was higher than the 6-miler @ MP I ran last week at 7:13 pace, so there's some accumulated fatigue from the 70 miles last week hitting me. On the bright side, a shorter 4.5 miler MP workout just 3 weeks ago had me hitting HR160 at the end for an overall slower pace (avg 7:25-30), so things are definitely improving.

I also stepped onto an unexpected curb with my right foot pretty hard at mile 7. Didn't turn it, but I had a right sore calf after finishing the tempo run, so I actually walked a good part of miles 9 and 10 just to make sure I wasn't injuring something. Feels mildly sore - will keep an eye on it. 

I kept a pretty steady effort though, HR was pretty steadily creeping forward, and I'm learning how to pace those small hills without overdoing the climbs and chilling out too much on descents.

Was planning to run an easy 3-4 at lunch, but still having mild-moderate soreness in my right calf after that hard curb step, so I opted to stay on the safe side and swam for 30 minutes instead at the YMCA just to get some cardio. (First real swim in 2+ months - 1:40 pace for 200s, slower than normal for me, but totally fine.)