2x3 Miles

Goal: 
8 mile tempo at 610-600

Actual:
2 miles warmup
3 miles in 17:31 (559, 550, 542), 2 min jog rest, 3 miles in 17:44 (5:55, 5:55, 5:54)
2 miles cool down for 10+ miles cool down

Last year before Twin Cities, I did an 8 mile tempo at McAlpine.  This time around, I was still feeling run down from my travel back to Charlotte from California.  I only got five hours of sleep on Saturday night, and woke up at 6AM to get a long run in with Spada on Sunday.  This felt like 3AM to my body, which was still on West Coast time.  Since then, it's been very difficult for me to fall asleep before 11PM, meaning that I'm getting less than 7 hours of sleep a night, which is not enough for me.  With that being said, I asked Nedlo what her workout was and she did this, so I figured it was a safe alternative to the 8 mile tempo.

I slept in, so there was no one to run with.  I opted to run this workout at 430PM with Garrett along on the bike.  We began the workout and I felt really good after the warmup.  Slightly pressed for time, I started the workout by just jogging into it and already took off faster than I had planned.  Instead of coming through in 610, I was right below 6 and the pace kept dropping.  This part felt like a total breeze.  We ended near the pond in Freedom Park, Garrett handed me some water, and soon we were off again. 

During the second set, there was a u-turn so that I could practice my turning skills for the big race.  I noted that the u-turns could be mentally debilitating and vowed to make sure I focus on that in my mental preparations this week.  I wanted to slow it down in this set, so I ran perfectly even 555s.  Right on target for what I'd like to run in the last 10k of my race in just 9 days. 

I'm pleased with this workout and looking forward to the next set of workouts that are really more focused on just keeping the legs fresh and ready to go for next Saturday.  I've got a simple fartlek on Friday, a 13-miler on Saturday, and then 3x1 mile at MP on Tuesday.  After that, it's all about staying calm and confident...and stress free!