I know we're all different, but would anyone care to hazard a guess as
to the "handicap" I ought to give myself for taking a tempo run in 25
degrees Farenheit? At my level, 5k PR of 20:10, I figure it translates
in about :10/mile slower than I'd do at an ideal temperature of, say 50
degrees F. In other words, today's tempo run was right around 7:00/mile
when I usually get them around 6:50-6:55, once in a while a little
faster.
Sound about right, anyone? It would have to be some sort of sliding
scale, with the performance hit increasing as the temperature dropped, I
think. My performance today was about 2-3% off my usual in warmer
weather for 20-25 degrees less than ideal weather. Maybe 1% for the
first 10 degrees below 45, than 2% more for the next 10 degrees, and 3%
more for temps between 15 and 25 F.
By the way, fellow asthmatics, I hereby retract my statement of a few
weeks ago that an inhaler doesn't seem to help in the cold weather.
I've randomly used the inhaler for about half my speedwork over the last
few weeks, and looking back, every time I miss my targets has been a day
that I didn't use the inhaler, and every day I hit them has been a day I
took a puff before I went out.
Steve "3-mile tempo in 21:02 today" Freides