Major Confidence Booster

Goal:
3x2 mile with paces at 6:00, 5:50, 5:40

Actual:
3.4 mile warmup
3x2 mile with 2:15 rest at 11:49 (5:53, 5:56), 11:15 (5:40, 5:35), 11:06 (5:33, 5:33)
3.4 mile cool down for 12.7 miles total

I woke up this morning with a feeling that my legs were going to be ready for this workout.  With everyone running Race Fest this weekend, I struggled to find running partners for this until the very last minute.  I was fortunate to have company from Eric and Justin this morning as we met at Rebecca's house at 7am. I enjoyed a nice warmup on my own my from my house to get in over 3 miles and then did a couple of light strides and stretches before heading to the start line.  

Going into this workout, I had set out rather low goals for the paces.  I originally had intended to run 6:00 pace for the first set, and then drop 10 seconds per interval.  However, if I feel good in a workout, the intended goal pace is thrown out the window and I just run on how I'm feeling.  This was definitely the case today

For the first set, we went out at a relaxed pace and I was chatting it up with Justin.  My breathing was under control and I did not feel like I was labored at all, in fact.  It was a great feeling, so I knew that I would be picking it up on the next one so that it actually felt hard.

For the next set, Eric hung back at 5:50 pace, and Justin helped me for the first 800m and the last 800m.  It was helpful to have Justin there, especially during the slight uphills in the last mile.  I felt like I was pushing it this time, but I was not going into overdrive and I was relaxed.

For the final set, I was pretty much solo until there were 1200m to go.  I could tell this one was fast because my breathing was fast and labored.  It was difficult to keep my mind focused when I was out there on the road by myself, but I kept reminding myself that Eric and Justin would be joining soon. I went through this mile in 5:33.  Eric and Justin hopped in a pushed me to complete the last mile in another 5:33.  I had to work on this one, but it wasn't like I was going to the well.  

I feel really happy about this workout because I was able to run way faster than a terrible mile repeat workout I had in the beginning of March.  It just goes to show that when you have a bad workout, it's not an indicator of your fitness.  Rather, it's a mere indicator of how your body was feeling that day.  Stress from outside sources can impact the way your workout goes on any given day, and sometimes it just doesn't pan out.  However, today everything synced together well as both my mind and body were in the right state of being.  Based on this workout, I can go into the USA 25k Championships with confidence that I can achieve my goals.