5 Mile Wave Tempo

Goal:
5 Mile Tempo alternating every 800m pace between 2:50-2:53 and 3:05-3:07

Actual:
2.25 miles warmup
2:55 (on)
3:03 (off)
2:52
3:04
2:51
3:07
3:00 (fell asleep)
3:04
2:53
3:04 (29:53 for 5 miles)
2.75 miles cool down for 10 miles total

Wave workouts never cease to amaze me in their difficulty to complete.  They are mentally consuming, physically taxing, and aerobically challenging.  It's the hard workouts that make us stronger, right?

Spada, Eric and I all planned to meet at the Freedom Park Tennis Courts at 6AM.  This meant that Spada and I would actually meet somewhere halfway on the Sugar Creek Greenway since we both left our respective stations at 5:40.  By the time we united with Eric, it was time to get the show on the road.

We started at the East Blvd Entrance to Freedom Park, did a loop and a half around the Freedom Lake, and continued our way to the other end of the Greenway.  We started off a little slow on the first 800m "on," but that was to be expected since it's hard to get the legs rolling immediately when it's so early in the morning.  After the second "on" 800m, I knew this was going to be a tough one for me.  My breathing was already labored and my form felt sloppy.

I was really grateful for the company of Spada and Eric because I really just wanted to stop and catch my breath, but that wasn't an option with them around.  On the fourth one, Eric bolted ahead, and Spada went with him. I heard Eric ask Spada something, but I didn't quite catch what he said.  They rolled about 10-20 meters ahead of me, but pulled back to come get me on the easier segment.  Spada happily told me that Eric had asked Spada: "Did we drop her?"  Well, yes, they had dropped me, because I dropped a bomb of a split on that one.  If it had been light out, I'm sure I would have seen Eric blush in embarrassment, and he immediately stuttered something in an attempt to cover his bases and to not insult me.  Fortunately, I have thick skin and I told him not to worry about it.  In my mind, I was thinking: "Don't worry, I'm going to drop your a$$ in the next workout."  I smiled to myself.

Fortunately, I was able to bring things back into respective digits for the final hard segment, and then we called it a day.  I continued on my way on the greenway back to my house, grateful that was over.  Things are slowly coming together and I'm really enjoying this training.  My left hip flexor is still tight, but definitely manageable.  Looking forward to mile repeats on Friday.