5K Temp Run

Thank you, freezing cold Minneapolis. I did another treadmill (again, at 1.5% elevation) run last night. This was suppose to be my tempo run, although I'm pretty sure I don't do tempo runs correctly. I have a tendency to start out too slow and then try to hit my goal time by flying at the end. I would like my tempo runs of 5k and 10k to be at a sub 8 minute mile. Last night's 5k ended at 26:56 (8:41 second miles). But my last mile was well under 8 minutes (probably around 7:30). Basically, I probably could've set the damn thing at 7.5mph and just gone through it to finish right under 25 minutes. I guess that's part of training -- learning what I can do. I wish I would learn by pushing limits, not realizing I didn't hit them. So that left me fairly disappointed. My simple math and guestimates tell me that if I can't run a 10k in under 50 minutes, I have no real shot at a marathon in under 4 hours. Sooo.... that is my "tempo run" goal. Of course, you don't need to be a runner to know that if I can't run a 5k in under 25 minutes, then I can't run a 10k in under 50. But progress is progress, and I am getting faster. And I still logged six miles after warmup and cooldown. So that does put me at 23 miles for the week (after three days). That sounds like a lot in my head, then I remember, a marathon is 26.2, and I've got to do that in four hours, not four days!