Salem Lake Run

Goal:
15 miles with 3-4 miles at 6:30-6:10

Actual:
15.5 miles with 3 miles at 6:20-6:07

I had scheduled my final portion of the Wake Forest TRAILS study for today so I figured a trip to my old stomping grounds at Salem Lake was in order.  To make things more exciting, Aaron called me the day before and asked if I wanted to go on a field trip since we both had the day off from work.  He was down with going to Salem with me and then hanging out at Wake while I finished the study.

At Salem, a light drizzle and overcast sky greeted us as we pulled into the parking lot.  Thomas rolled up and we all got on our way, with Aaron starting first on the bike.  Straight out of the gate, we were rolling sub-7:00s easily, hitting 6:50 like it was easy.  I guess the cooler temperatures are helping my paces feel easier and easier.  After one lake loop, we headed out for an out-and-back portion to the 3.75 mark and back.  With Thomas on the bike, and Aaron now pacing me, I quietly picked up the pace after we passed the 3 mile mark and continued pushing until the turn around point.  Since I didn't wear my Garmin, I just guessed on our pace and was only able to get one of our splits (6:07) through the 3 miles.  After we "finished" the tempo portion, we still ran 6:30 and 6:38 for our "cool down." My guess is that my estimated pace for the tempo is a little slower than it actually was.