5 Mile Wave Tempo

Goal:
5 mile wave workout alternating every 800m 2:50-2:55 and 3:05-3:10

Actual:
2.5 miles warmup
5 Mile Wave Tempo in 29:44, Splits:
2:52 (on)
3:07 (off) 5:59
2:53
3:04 (5:57)
2:52
3:03 (5:55)
2:54
3:05 (5:59)
2:51
3:02 (5:54)
3 miles cool down for 10.5 miles total

pm:  4.3 miles for 14.8 miles total

Three weeks ago, I ran this exact same workout on the same course, but 9 seconds slower than I did today.  Granted, 9 seconds isn't too much of an improvement, but it's an improvement.  Most importantly, I completed this workout after hitting 86 miles the week before and also en route to hitting 85-90 miles again this week.  I also felt much stronger and less exhausted this time around.  The company was pretty much the same with Spada, and then Justin Breland in replacement for Eric.

In the early morning hours, and after an uncharacteristic cold front blew in, we toed the imaginary start line at the gate to Freedom Park.  I knew on the warmup over that I was going to feel good on this one. Mentally, I was in the right state to have the confidence and physically, my legs felt the best they had in at least three months.  I wanted to rock this workout by hitting my goal times on each segment.  Justin and I worked together for the first two hard ones, while Spada was a couple of steps back, which is rather unusual for him.  Don't get me wrong, Spada always makes me do the work on the first half of the workout, but normally he's tucked right behind my left shoulder.  After the second one, he even noted that his quads were really tight from the 400s we had done on Friday.  Oddly enough, he bolted ahead on the 4th hard wave portion, attempting scare tactics on Justin and me.  It definitely didn't work on me because I knew I would catch him again, which I did.  On the fifth and final hard one, he pulled ahead of me, but I maintained the distance he had gapped in the first five meters of the interval.

In the end, I realized it had been a almost 10 months since I had worked out with Justin and I remembered why I used to work out with him so much - he's just so darn fun to train with!  Justin has a sense of humor that mostly goes over my (strawberry) blond head, but when I do get his jokes, they always make me chuckle.  I'm hoping he keeps this streak alive so that Spada and I can continue to do speed work with him!

Even though none of my times are lightning bolt fast right now, I'm really getting my confidence back and am really excited to race in less than two weeks.  Time to put all this hard work to the test!