Notes
Arranged a long run with Mitch, but he's fully in marathon training so he was doing 22 with 8 at goal pace. I wasn't sure about a tempo but it was my best option. I did a slow mile warmup before he arrived having done 5 already. 2 miles together then we dropped the pace.
It seemed like a good idea to start on a downhill to ease into the pace, but really it just got us going too fast and we hit 6 flat, which would be our fastest split (Mitch was aiming for 6:15, which I think he could easily do but I also know the marathon has not come easily to him).
We slowed and tried to find the pace as we had our slowest mile of the tempo (6:21). And right as we were finding the right pace, we hit the wind. It wasn't a pace destroying wind, but it made it much more taxing. 2 miles of that, Mitch took a pee break as I jogged, then 2 more miles into the wind with the only solid uphill of the route.
The last 2 miles granted us the wind at our back, but it was also back onto sidewalks and we had to stop for traffic 3 or so times. It also felt much warmer as we picked up the pace as well.
My stomach was again a problem, though not too noticeable until the last 4 miles of the day. Then it truly felt like sore abs, not a side ache or bloat. That seems manageable but still problematic. Still, did 8 miles at a faster average than my 10k "race" 2 weeks ago.
The 2 miles after the tempo felt miserable, mostly due to my stomach, but made it back happy with 13. Felt sorry for Mitch as he had 5 more still to go.