Owning the Booty Loop

Plan: 3x12 with 2 min rest at Booty Loop at 12:10-12:40
Actual: 3x2 mile with 3:00-3:30 min rest at 12:08 (600, 608)...11:42 (550, 552)...11:33 (543, 550)

This workout almost felt tougher than the 3x3 mile workout! The plan was to meet Meagan, Justin, Lat, Beigay, and Billy for a 3x2 mile workout on the infamous Booty Loop. We wanted to run the loop two times and stop when Mr. Garmin beeped for Mile 2. I warmed up 3.5 miles from my house to the Dowd and then to Freedom.

To start off our first set, Meagan and I volunteered Mike to lead because he's good at the whole pacing thing. We started at the bottom of the big hill on East Blvd and I felt terrible for the first incline. Once the mile split passed, we all knew why: we went through in 6:00 flat. At this point, Meagan put on her team captain hat and used her words to calm us. She told us to just relax on the next flat mile so that we wouldn't crash and burn on the next two sets. Sure enough, we relaxed back into a 6:08 for the second mile of that set. (Side note - I've decided that Meagan would be a great coach or personal trainer because she definitely knows what to say to keep us focused and positive).

For the second set, we made a collective decision and decided to take 3:00 rest instead of 2:00 so that we could recover from our studly 6 min mile on a filthy incline. This set featured a downhill first mile and an uphill second mile. For the downhill mile, we came through in 5:50 and then the second mile on this set was tough for me. The core group of Meagan, Billy, and Mike began to gain about five meters on me, and Lat pulled ahead to join them. On a slight downhill, I made a burst to tuck in behind them again, only to find that when the final uphill came into sight, I was maintaing my pace, and they were increasing their pace. I came through in 5:52, which is pretty good considering it was uphill. Meagan and company probably came through in 5:48.

For the third set, we rewarded ourselves with 3:30 rest. This set featured a flat first mile and a downhill/flat second mile. Apparently we all felt prety good, with Mike and Meagan leading the way, we came through this mile in 5:43 (this wasn't even on a downhill segment!). At this point, Mike and Meagan split off again on the downhill portion while I maintained my 5:45 pace. We reached the East Blvd / Kings light and Lat and I got stuck so we had to slow down a bit before we crossed over into Freedom Park. With the slower jog, Lat and I still posted a 5:50 final mile (Meagan probably got a 543 and Mike a 538). Overall, we all ran pretty awesome, so Mike, Meagan, and I should feel pretty good about our races in Twin Cities in less than seven weeks.

We finished with a nice walk to the water fountain, reassured Billy that his workout was great, and went our separate ways back to our cars. I cooled down a little over 2 miles and even walked the last block to my house. It was glorious.