Farewell Workout

Goal:
3 mile tempo at 555-605, then 3x400m at 75-77

Actual:
4.5 mile warmup
3 mile tempo at 554, 545, 543 for 17:22 total, 5 min rest, 75, 73, 73
2 mile cool down

It seems like it was yesterday when Pezz, Meagan and I all toed the line at the USA Club Cross Country Championships, sporting the CRC logo on our shirts.  Now, less than one year later, I am the lone wolf who still calls Charlotte home.  Pezz relocated to Flagstaff, AZ to pursue a professional running career early this year while Meagan and Jordan are off to continue doing big things for Craft/Karhu.  In the meantime, I am soaking up as much time as I can with these people since time is not on my side.

I met Meagan and Jordan halfway in Freedom Park and together we ran to the Dilworth Speed Loop to meet Pezz.  Jordan was tagging along to give us some company and to keep our chatter in check.  We went out for the first 800m, chatting away like it's no big deal, completely not hitting our target pace, and then Jordan huffed and puffed his way to front, saying "We're slow."  This is why Jordan rocks. He doesn't like to mess around and immediately took over to keep the pace honest and the silence golden. 

I felt like I was the only person breathing hard at the 1.5 mile mark and got a little self-conscious that maybe I was hurting a lot more than I should be.  I waited it out and after the 2 mile mark came and went, I felt increasingly better and stronger with each step.  We finished up well ahead of our planned pace, so I'm hoping this will make 5:55 pace feel that much easier this weekend in DC. 

After a generous break, we started our 400 meter repeats.  To be honest, they were really fun! It was exciting to get some speed back in the legs since I haven't done anything faster than 5:40 in a while. 

Pezz continued to add on since she's kind of a big deal these days, being sponsored by Saucony and all. She's heading up to the USA 10k Champs in Boston this weekend while Meagan and I race at the Army Ten Miler with thousands of hot Army commanders.  This will be my last race with Meagan until the Olympic Trials, but I am confident that we'll coordinate other races in 2012 to reunite at.