I went for a tempo run last night at around 9:30 PM. The run was planned for 30 minutes, with the first half as a recovery, easy-effort run and the second half being faster, ending the run strong. The purpose is to help me get into the habit of picking up speed in the later part of the run, getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. I had a good dinner beforehand, so I was fueled up for the challenge despite starting it so late in the day.

The further into the run I went, and the more tired I became, the more focus I needed on the little details—like my breathing, my posture, and whether any part of my body was unnecessarily tensing up.

I had to slow down toward the end because the inside of my right foot, near my big toe, felt as if it had torn up and bled through my socks. I probably made a mistake by having my shoe on too tight, and the Crocs Pacer didn’t have enough (or any) soft material, so the only softness between my skin and the Crocs’ rubber body was the cheap sock. As soon as I got home, I took off the shoes and socks in anticipation of a nasty injury and some blood. Luckily, my skin was just sore and swollen a bit. I immediately applied some ice, which helped with the pain and reduced the swelling (it almost felt like a burn, with the skin being tender, soft, and about to bubble up with liquid). It still hurts a bit whenever I walk around, and I hope it can heal fast enough so I can run again tonight.

I was able to run 5 km in around 30 minutes, with an average heart rate of 156 bpm, definitely achieving the goal of the run and being faster than my previous run on the same route.