3x3 Miles on the Sugar Creek

Goal:
3x3 mile at 608,613, 600-605, 550-610 with 800m rest @ 3:30-3:40

Actual
2.3 miles warmup
3 miles in 18:32 (615, 608, 609) 800m rest ~3:15 (6:30 pace)
3 miles in 17:45 (5:54, 5:55, 5:55) 800m jog in ~3:30 (7:00 pace)
3 miles in 17:39 (5:52, 5:56, 5:55)
2.7 mile cool down for ~15 miles total

It's mornings like these that I am really proud of what Aaron, Jay and I started with the Charlotte Running Club. Even as everyone's fall marathoning season comes to a close, I somehow am able to find multiple people to work out with me.  I feel like I'm in college when my alarm goes off at 5AM; it's as if I'm going to meet up with my teammates for an early practice.  In so many ways, Paul, Billy and Caleb are my teammates.  After all, I've been running with these guys for years.  All the boys met me at 530AM at my house and we headed to the speed loop to start our first set of fun on the same course that I've been doing for all my long marathon workouts.

First set:
We ran right into the first set and started out at a comfortable 615 pace and then hovered around 610. We were all in our comfort zone and talked the whole time. After we completed the first set, I purposely kept the rest a little brisk because I wanted to "cheat" a little so that I could get a faster overall time for the whole 10 mile distance.

Second set:
Here, I still felt really comfortable even though we went out fast and had to slow it down considerably after 800m. I was slightly worried that I would be hurting on the third set since we were hitting sub-600s instead of 605, but I felt really relaxed and positioned myself right behind Billy and Paul so I didn't have to do that much work. Caleb stayed by my side so we had a nice pack going. Our last mile was perfectly on 558-556 pace the entire split so I liked how we kept that pace even throughout.

Third set:
During our rest, I told Paul and Billy that I wanted to go out around 555 and just see where we ended up but no faster than 550. We went through perfectly for first mile and then settled a little bit on the second mile so I pushed it up a notched so we could still hit sub-600. On the last mile Billy and Paul made a small 5-10m gap on me so I just maintained my pace and got a little faster at the end to close with my fastest set of the day.  This last set didn't feel too taxing physically, but more from a mental perspective to keep my confidence as the boys pulled slightly away.

I am very pleased with this workout because I mostly followed the paces that Terry prescribed.  Even though I was a tad quick on the second set, I was still able to make my third and final set the fastest for the day. At the end of the workout, my left calf and hamstring felt a little tight.  I need to focus on these things over the course of the next couple of weeks as I still have about three solid weeks of training before I begin the taper.