Day 109: Tempo, Taper and the Turning Point
Weathering the Shift The countdown is getting serious now. With just under two weeks until race day, every run starts to carry a bit more weight, a few more questions and a lot more checking of the long-range forecast. Today, however, it wasn’t race day weather that caught me off guard—it was the sudden shift in the here and now. The morning arrived with a stubborn blanket of drizzle and the sort of damp that seeps into your enthusiasm as much as your socks. With the rain showing no signs of packing up its things and leaving, I waited it out. Eventually, at 12:30pm, I set out for a tempo run—my first proper one in quite some time. Tempo sessions aren’t just about pace; they’re about mindset. They ask questions like “Can you keep this up?” and “Whose bright idea was this?” over and over again until your legs answer with action or rebellion. Fortunately today, they leaned toward action. The Tempo Test The run started with a 10-minute warm-up, gently navigating my way towards the High...