First Workout Back

Goal:
Light 5 Mile Progression Tempo on Feel

Actual:
2.5 miles warmup
5 mile Progression in 635, 630, 625, 605, 558 (6:18 ave)
2.2 miles cool down for 9.72 total in 1:09:02

The legs are finally starting to feel normal again, so I felt ambitious enough to actually start this light workout back today.  Granted, my times above were definitely not stellar, but I achieved all of the goals of the workout...which were really just to run on feel and to get that fire back into the legs.

In the warm January temperature of 62 degrees, I set foot out my door and straight onto the Sugar Creek Greenway.  Not much later, I unexpectedly ran into Meghan Fillnow and we were able to enjoy a mile of conversation before she peeled off for the Dowd.  I continued to make my way to meet Eric halfway in Freedom Park. We stopped to stretch and take a bio break before embarking on what could very well have been a disastrous workout.  Alas, it wasn't disastrous; instead, the workout was quite lovely.

My legs felt surprisingly fresh from the marathon followed by two weeks of minimal mileage.  Eric and I chatted away, letting our bodies do the work effortlessly.  Conversation was easy and breathing wasn't an issue.  In fact, our conversation only slowed once we hit the fifth mile, which makes sense considering we  had finally dipped under a 6:00/min pace per mile.  Eric pulled away from me slightly in the final 300 meters, but I held my pace, perfectly content to maintain my ease of effort.  After all, it's just the first workout back.

With this workout complete, my motivation, held strong by the culmination of the Trials and my eagerness to run the Philly Marathon with three of my closest Charlotte friends, is higher than ever!  The Philly Marathon is very far away, and I have a lot of goals to accomplish in between now and then, but it's definitely still something to get fired up about.

Up next:  minuters on Friday!