Down Ladder (4-3-2-1)

Goal
4m (@610-615)-3m(@600-605)-2m(@550-555)-1m(@540-545) with 800m rest at 3:30-3:45

Actual:
1.7 mile warmup at 5:20AM
4 miles in 24:42: 6:11, 6:13, 6:08, 6:10 (3:32)
3 miles in 18:01: 6:01, 6:01, 5:59 (3:34)
2 miles in 11:30: 5:45, 5:45
1 mile: 5:41
2.7 mile cool down for 15.9 miles total with jog rest

Eric and I nailed this workout together.  With a 5:05AM wakeup call, we both trudged out of our respective beds to prepare for a monster of a workout during pre-dawn hours.  Fortunately for me, I fell asleep at 9PM so I was fresh off 8+ hours of sleep.  It was going to be a dark one the entire time, so I brought my headlamp (that I hate) and held it in my hand until I met Eric at the Speed Loop for our workout.  I chose a course the went from the 2 mile speed loop and then back down into the Sugar Creek Greenway, mainly because it's flat and fairly well lit.  Because of this, I turned off my head lamp after a while because it really was not necessary.

For the first four miles, both Eric and I could talk and I felt entirely relaxed.  There really wasn't much to report except that both of our Garmins were spitting out different times, so I'm going with my splits.  For the next set of three miles, my legs continued to feel great and the conversation continued without any issues.  We stopped to get some water during the rest after this one mainly because I was feeling a little dehydrated since the workout was so early and I didn't get to drink much water.  For the next 2 miles, I felt really great and took it out entirely too fast in the first 400m (about 5:35 pace) and then immediately put on the brakes to hit a more respectable time.  In hindsight, I think that this quick pace out of the gate affected my ability to run any faster on the final mile, but at least I was very consistent in my pacing after I noticed it.  For the last mile, Eric took off and I knew that my legs weren't going to respond in the way I wanted them too, so I let him maintain about a 15 meter lead on me, while I maintained around 5:40 pace, which was right where Terry wanted me to be. 

All in all, I am exceptionally grateful for Eric's company because he helped make those first seven miles of the workout go by quickly.  Physically and mentally, there was never a point where I thought that I couldn't do the workout.  I felt strong coming into the workout and left feeling confident and prepared.  My training is really coming together right now, and it's getting me very excited for the next couple of weeks.