Track Reunion in Charlotte

Goal:
1600 (3:30 rest) - 4 x 400 (60s rest, 3:00 after #4) - 1200* (3:00 rest) - 2 x 200 (60s rest). targets: 1600 in 5:15-5:20, 400s in 76, 1200 in 3:51-3:55, 200s in 36-37 

Actual:
20 min warmup
5:15 (600m in 3:31)
75 (200m in 66)
77 (59)
76 (60)
76 (400m jog plus water 2:49)
3:54 (400m jog plus water 2:52)
36 (200m in 62)
34
1.3 mile cool down for ~8 miles total

pm: 3.6 miles for 11.6 miles total for day 

This week I headed to Charlotte for a couple of days to help lead an all-day planning session at work. Laurie and Nathan were kind enough to host both Garrett and me during our stay, so it was no surprise that Laurie and I decided to do this workout together.  We went to Providence Day's newly remodeled track and had the extra company of Billy and Caleb for this.

Everything went as planned and I felt really smooth on all the intervals.  Caleb stayed right with me through most of this, which helped tremendously.  Since Laurie has the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon this week, she held back a tad.  I am really excited to put all this speed to the test at the Beat the Heath 5k! 

In the evening, I did a nice social double with Aaron, Michelle, Nick and Garrett biking.  It's tough coming to Charlotte since I still feel like it's home, even though I don't have a physical home there.  

8x1000m on DSL

Goal:
8x1000m with 50s-60s rest w/ 1st 5 @ 3:38-3:39 (550 per mile pace), next 3 @ 3:33-3:34 (543 per mile), optional 1-2 more at any pace you like. With option to increase rest over 60s

Actual:
4 mile warmup
8x1000m all with 60s jog rest in 331, 336, 331, 333, 335, 330, 330, 328
2.1 mile cool down for 12 miles total

A combination of things forced me to do this workout in the afternoon instead of Wednesday morning.  First, another polar vortex blew in one inch of snow along with bitterly cold temps (10 degrees), so it was probably slick out on the roads.  Sure enough, in the morning on my walk to the bus stop, my entire road was covered in ice.  The main roads were fine, but the side roads definitely were not maintained. So, I crossed my fingers that the sun would melt some of the ice to slush.  Over lunch break, I did a drive by of the speed loop and it looked clear enough, so I informed the forces that we were a go for a 4:30 workout start from my house.  Michelle, Danielle, Chad, Laurie, Caleb and Eric all showed up at the speed loop for some fun.

On the 1000m Speed Loop, there was one patch of ice as we turned onto East Blvd, so we decided to cut out into the bike lane instead of the sidewalk.  I was glad I had my Garmin programmed because it was much easier to tell where to stop as we avoided some minor patches of ice at both the start and finish.  Then we just jogged briskly back to the start line and repeated eight times.  For the first one, Laurie, Caleb, Eric and I all got out to a fast start and then we had to pull ourselves back to hit the prescribed paces.  We were talking through the first five intervals and then by the time that the 6th one came, we were all suddenly quiet, except for Laurie who has an uncanny ability to speak during any type of workout.  My legs were a little tired after the 7th one, but I just figured it was because of the race.  I'm definitely pleased with the workout and it's always nice to hit times faster than what your coach told you to do.

5x1000m on the Speed Loop

Goal:
5x1000m at 3:31-5:26 with 2:30 rest

Actual:
3 mile warmup
5x1000m at 3:24, 3:23, 3:22, 3:22, 3:21 with 2:30 jog rest
2.5 mile cool down for 9.3 miles total

pm: 6.5 miles with Nick for 15.8 miles total

The goal for this workout was to simulate my goal paces for the race on Saturday night.  With set time bonuses for the prize money, I figured it'd be easy to choose my goal paces based on those--namely: sub-17:43 ($300) and sub-17:15 ($200).  I roughly calculated the the splits and felt ready to set out on slightly less than ambitious times.  I purposely slowed down the paces because June was basically a bust of a month for mileage and I've only had four solid weeks of training under my belt.

Caleb, Billy and I met up at the Speed Loop and got to business quickly.  Caleb stuck with me, which is a change to his normal routine--sprint out ahead of me and then come back to be even with me after 300m. He made a conscious decision to just stick to my strategy and I think it worked out best for both of us.  I didn't panic that I was going out too fast and he didn't slow down tremendously.  Our splits for the 400m and 800m were generally slower and then I would mentally make a note to push it really hard in the last 200-400m.  This helped drive the paces faster so that we could run a progression of sorts for each interval.  Definitely very pleased with this as I ran faster than my goal paces and left feeling ready to run a solid 5k on Saturday night.

10x400m in Dilworth

Goal:
10-12x400m with 1:30 rest

Actual:
4 mile warmup
10x400m with 75 sec rest @ 78-80 with one at 75
2 mile cool down for 8.7 miles total

pm: 5 miles with Nick from house (13.7 miles for day)

Caleb moves to the suburbs in a couple of weeks, so I will be losing the luxury of having a training buddy just half a mile from my house.  I am really maximizing my workout time with him as the weeks pass and his inevitable move date comes closer.  Fortunately, Laurie isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so we pulled her in for some speed as well. 

This was the first workout back for the girls so we opted for the Dilworth Speed Loop instead of the JCSU track.  Laurie and I didn't even check our splits so that it was purely based on effort.  Of course I cheated after 6 and asked Caleb what he had been hitting.  My legs definitely felt a little rusty, resulting in Caleb being a couple steps ahead of me on each one.  I didn't like having him pull away from me on each one, but I found that my motivation was rather low, making it difficult to push ahead of him.  I did muster my fastest split of the day at the very end, which is always a great way to walk away from a workout.  Other than that, I was pleased wtih the first hard effort back after a 4 week hiatus.  Looking forward to getting into half marathon specific workouts. 

Pre-Race Workout

Goal:
3xmile @ 5:30 +4x400m

Actual:
3 mile warmup
2xmile in 5:53, 5:53, 2:30 jog rest, 3x400m
3 mile cool down for 9 miles total

It's finally gotten pretty humid down here in North Carolin again and it's definitely taking its toll on workouts!  It definitely has an impact on my workouts and this felt harder than it should have.  I'm not sure if that's because of the humidity or if that's the way a typical pre-race workout feels. Regardless, I was grateful for Caleb's company because Laurie had to bail after the warmup since she had an allergic reaction to a prescription she had taken. Aside from the insane amount of sweat that accumulated on my clothes, nothing else of much significance happened. I'm ready for the half champs!

5x1000m on the Track

Goal:
3x1000m + 4x400m

Actual:
3 mile warmup
5x1000m with 2:30 rest at 3:17, 3:17, 3:17, 3:17, 3:16
3 mile cool down for ~10 miles total

Woke up at 515AM to get out the door by 530 to meet Caleb at his house before running to the JCSU Track together for our workout.  We were supposed to catch a group from the Dowd on the way, and didn't see them so kept on going towards the track.  Only David Willis showed up a couple minutes later, so it was a smaller group that we typically had at the track.  This is mainly due to the fact that several people have been heading to the Summer Track Series on Tuesday evenings to get in their workouts.

I started this workout with the expectation of running 3:20, and was pleasantly surprised to find my splits under that mark.  David was about 10 seconds ahead of me while Caleb was about 10 seconds behind me on each interval, so I was basically alone for the workout.  Sometimes I struggle when I'm in no man's land like that, so I employed some tactics to keep myself focused.  Lacking Laurie's encouraging presence, I kept my eyes straight on David's back so that I wouldn't slow down.  Everything felt very relaxed and controlled, so I came out of the workout feeling pretty confident for the race on Friday in China Grove.

In other news, Garrett was picked up by the Trois Rivieres Aigles in Quebec, Canada.  I'm hoping to get a chance to visit him in late June / early July, but it will be an expensive trip.  It's been exactly four weeks since I last saw him, so by late June I'll undoubtedly be getting a little antsy to see my husband.

Tempo + 400s

Goal:
Pre Race workout with tempo + speed

Actual:
3 mile warmup
4x400m in 72, 73, 73, 72 w/ 1:30 rest b/w and 3:00 b/w set
2 mile tempo in 11:09 - 5:36, 5:33 (4:00 rest)
4x400m in 73, 75, 75, 74 with 1:30 rest
3 mile cool down for 10 miles total

Today Garrett left for baseball for the entire season, so it was silly of me to think that I'd actually wake up to do a workout with Laurie.  After a fitful night of sleep because I was undoubtedly thinking about Garrett leaving for 5+ months, I woke up to cancel on Laurie and sleep for an additional 2 hours.  By 8AM, Garrett dropped me off at work before embarking on a ten hour drive to Indiana to begin his baseball season.  Our goodbye went something like this as we left the house:

Garrett (heads for the door):  Alright, let's go.
Caitlin:  Uh...don't I get a hug or something.
Garrett (perplexed):  Oh, right...
Caitlin (gives Garrett a hug):  See you in July, I guess.
Garrett:  Yeah, I'm so excited to start pitching.

...In other words, peace out, wife!!  And Garrett left like giddy kindergartner on the first day of school while I remained the dejected, unpopular kid left behind.

Having said all that, I ran my workout in the evening with Caleb and Eric on the Dilworth Speed Loop.  I was really excited about all the splits I ran and felt really comfortable, but as I cooled down I realized that the times may have been a little too aggressive for a pre-race workout.  I'm hoping to win the 10k on Saturday, so I should have put on the brakes a little bit so I didn't feel so gassed after the workout.  We'll see what happens!

6x800m with Caleb

Goal:
Pre race workout

Actual:
5k Warmup
6x800m with 2:00 rest at 2:35, 2:38, 2:37, 2:37, 2:38, 2:38
3.3 mile cool down for 10 miles total

Caleb and I opted to sleep in and do this workout in the afternoon instead.  I was open to workout options as it was pre-race and really just wanted company. Caleb had an 800m workout prescribed as one of his last workouts leading up to the Boston Marathon, so I said yes and headed to the Dilworth Speed Loop with him to get this done.

There isn't too much to report for the intervals except that we went out too fast on the first interval and I felt like my legs paid for it on the others.  I felt really good and strong, but I would have rather finished in a 2:35 than begun with one.  Caleb and I were together for the first 4 intervals, but on the final two, he fell back a little bit and I was left to push hard on my own terms.

I'm ready for a nice 8k in Greensboro on Saturday, but I'm definitely not looking forward to the hills around the course.

Minuters on the DSL

Goal:
3x2 Mile

Actual:
3 mile warmup
12x Min (@ 4:50-5:15 pace)+ 400m in 74
3 mile cool down for ~ 10 miles total

I felt like I had done 2 mile repeats only a couple weeks ago and I realized that I hadn't done any speedwork lower than 800m in a while, so I decided to keep Billy company on a pre-race workout.  I've also felt a little run down, so I figured this switch would be a good move.  We ran really fast for the first 6 intervals, around 4:50 pace and then slowed up a little bit towards the end.  However, the average for the total run, with rest, came out around 6:06 pace, so it shows that we basically ran a decent tempo for 4 miles.  After we finished 12 minuters, we did a 400m with Caleb and the guys flew past me, making me feel like I was for sure running an 80 sec quarter.  Instead, I came through in a surprising 74, even after slowing up considerably as I neared the finished line.  In all honesty, this workout felt ridiculously hard.  It was nice to get some speed in the legs because I am focusing on some of the shorter distances in the upcoming month.

4xMile Repeats on DSL

Goal:
4-5xmile with 2:30 rest

Actual:
3.4 Mile Warmup
4xmile with 2:30 rest @ 5:31, 5:29, 5:30, 5;31
2 mile cool down for 10 miles total

My trusty sidekick Caleb joined me for probably the fourth week in a row for this early morning workout, yet again on the Dilworth Speed Loop.  Phil and Aaron joined us for the specific mile repeats while Jason and Paul did their own thing.  From the start, I felt great.  My legs felt light and my feet bounced easily off the pavement.  My breathing was definitely heavy, but mentally I didn't let it get to me.  After the third one, I could tell that everyone was feeling a little sluggish and down on the workout, and Phil and Caleb said they were done.  I made a deal with them that we would just do one more 800m and then be done.  Secretly, it was my way to get them to do at least half of the next interval with me so that I could have some company.  At the 800m mark for the 4th interval, they all stopped and I kept on going.  Aaron had been pulling away from us and when he saw that I was still powering on, he slowed up to push me along for the final half.  His company was very helpful because I was finally starting to feel a little tired.  I was very pleased to run all of these at basically the same pace.  Back in October, I ran 6xmile in ~5:47 average and was totally smoked by everyone I was running with.  My fitness continues to get better with each passing week!

16 Mile Long Run w/ Tempo

Goal:
5k Race Rumba on the Lumber

Actual:
No race
16 miles with 4 miles at 607 pace

So as of last night, I was supposed to do the Rumba on the Lumber 5k in Lumberton, NC.  In fact, we were even going to get a hotel for Friday night and stay over so that we could sleep in.  Well, by Thursday night, I had already nixed the idea of getting a hotel room because it was too much for my taste.  Then, by Friday night, I had nixed the idea of going to the race altogether because of two main things:  (1) the prize money was not $500 for the win as I thought and was instead $250 and (2) because of the reduced prize money, the cost / benefit analysis came out negative, when factoring in time lost to drive there.  So, we scrapped the plan to go to the race, and instead I made plans with Matt to run with a group at McMullen.

Now back to this morning, it was 8AM and I still had two hours before our run with Caleb and Danielle. I looked out the window, and it was snowing. No big deal.  An hour later, the snow flakes had tripled in size and were coming down in larger numbers.  I made a point on our Facebook thread that the wooden pathways at McMullen would be very slick for a tempo, and Caleb immediately made fun of me for being a weakling.  Once we got to McMullen though, Caleb realized that I had been right and we had to make a change to the tempo course to avoid the slick boards.

Going easy on the boards was just fine, just a little slick, but no big deal.  However, when picking up the pace, it definitely would have been difficult, so instead we did two loops around the church for a total of four miles before Caleb kept going straight on Pineville Matthews.  We hit splits of 6:15, 5:58, 6:15, 5:58 for each uphill/downhill mile. After the long run was over, I realized that we had averaged 7:05 pace for the easy portion of the run, which was definitely satisfying to see as that did not feel hard at all.  Unconsciously, I was pushing the pace so that I could warm my legs up which seemed to be absolutely freezing the entire time the snow was falling.

Although I scrapped a race, I was happier with the long run because it will prepare me for a solid half in the summer.

3x2 Mile

Goal:
3x2 Mile with 2:00 Rest at 600-555-550 pace

Actual:
2.7 mile warmup
3x2 mile with 2:00 rest
11:36 (5:50/5:46)
11:31 (5:46/5:45)
11:17 (5:40/5:37)
2.3 mile cool down for 11 miles total

Just like last Tuesday, Caleb, Charlie, Brad and I rolled out of bed to meet at the speed loop for some 2 mile repeats.  We had a guest appearance from Jaskot, which was a appreciated addition to the group, especially for me.  The weather was pleasantly perfect, with temps in the upper 40s and little wind.  We started and the boy immediately took off ahead of me, as I settled into what felt like a comfortable pace with Matt.  After 3/4 of a mile, Matt had fallen off my pace, and I was still 10-15 meters behind Caleb and Charlie.  I finished with a solid time and made it my goal to continue to get closer to Charlie and Caleb. By the second interval, I had closed the gap from 10 meters to 5 meters.  At the start of the third, they weren't too far ahead of me, so I made a move to charge a couple of strides to tuck in directly behind them.  I stayed with both of them through 1.5 miles and then Charlie and I began to pull away from Caleb.  I felt absolutely great the entire workout and was pleased to close in such a solid time.

What I liked most about this workout was that I was basically alone for the first four miles of the workout and still found the motivation within myself to push hard.  Last fall, I really struggled with this mental tenacity and I feel really confident that my mentality is finely tuned again!  This also proves that running 60-65 miles a week is really enabling me to bring my quality back to what it should be.

Pre-Race Workout

Goal:
3 mile tempo at 6:00-5:50 + 4x400m

Actual:
3.5 mile warmup
3 mile tempo in 6:10, 5:56, 5:56 + 4x400m with 1:00 rest.
3 mile cool down

4 miles in the pm

This felt harder than it should have, but I've had other workouts where I could barely break 6:00 pace before a race and then really crushed the race, so I walked away feeling pretty good about my effort, and confident about the prospect of a race in DC.  Caleb, Laurie, Eric and I all met up at the Speed Loop way before the sun came up, and started the workout without much thought.  For the first mile, we were all in a comfortable little pack, talking a little too much, and it was eerily similar to my Army Ten Miler pre-race workout last year.  Except, this year we went through the first mile much more slowly and then Caleb and Laurie took off and I tried to hang on desperately, but my leg wouldn't do it.  Then I hovered around the same pace for the last mile, watching Caleb and Laurie run smoothly about 30 meters ahead.  After a half mile jog, we started the 400s and again, my legs felt heavy to lift, but I completed them feeling strong.  On the cool down, I enjoyed the cooler weather and felt really positive about the weekend.

Then, in the afternoon, I felt my hamstring revert back to where it had been a couple weeks ago--exceptionally tight.  When I really thought things were starting to get better in my hammy, a little workout went ahead and threw it all off.  It really all comes down to the fact that I was slack on my glute exercises. Like most runners, I've got a weakness in my left glute, which is causing my hamstring to do a lot more work than necessary, therefore causing my hamstring some wear and tear.  Hopefully it will hold up for Army Ten Miler!

A Glimmer of Light (6x800m)

Goal:
8x800m with 1:30 rest at 2:43-2:37

Actual:
3 mile warmup
6x800m with 1:55 jog rest at 2:42/2:45
3.7 mile cool down for 10 miles total

PM:  1.5 hours of dance!

I might be back!  Just maybe.  Caleb and I started a bit later this morning--at 6:30--to get some extra hours of much needed sleep.  We did just 6 repeats, two shy of my goal, but I felt positive about how I stayed mentally in the game.  I didn't look at my splits and even asked Caleb to not share the splits with me as we finished. I did cheat a little though by asking him what he ran, since he was a little ahead of me, I could still gauge how fast I was going.

I have to start somewhere, and I feel like this a great start!  I enjoyed the workout and felt very positive in my thoughts during each interval.  Positivity at this point is very important and definitely a step in the right direction. I'm finally beginning to believe that I'll start feeling like a new person--meaning, a person with normal iron levels--in just a short period of time.

I'm going to do a 10 mile progression run with the intent of putting in the full effort, even if it means the pace may be a bit slower than I would like to see right now.  Like Laurie told me on our Sunday long run, at least when my iron is back, I'll feel fantastic!

16x400m Repeats

Goal:
16x400m with 1 min rest at 78-83

Actual:
3 mile warmup
16x400m at 78-83 with 1:00 rest
2.5 mile cool down for 9.5 miles total

pm:  4.5 miles for 14 miles total

After learning that I've got low iron and that I'm trying to do too much at this point in my life, I decided to do 400s.  Why 400s? Because they are easy to handle mentally and I didn't have to even look at my splits on the speed loop.  I was fortunate to have the company of Spada and Caleb for this workout in the early morning hours on the Dilworth Speed Loop.  We started off and I felt okay, not too winded but not a walk in the park, either.  I let Caleb and Spada speed ahead in front of me, and felt no worry. I didn't look at my splits, which helped a lot.  Towards intervals 10, 11, and 12, I felt terrible, and when I looked at my splits after the workout, my times reflected this (81-83 splits here), but then I was able to pull it back together by the last set.  In fact, I really wanted to quit after 12 intervals, but I vowed to myself prior to the workout that if things started getting tough that I would just slow it down.  I didn't even have to slow it down once I reached what I thought was my breaking point; I just needed to get my mind focused and in the right spot and I was able to fight through my own mental shortcomings.  All in all, the focus of this workout was to run fast time.  Instead, it was to come out of it feeling mentally stronger than when I went into it, and I achieved just that.

7.5 MIle Progression

Goal:
8 miles from 6:20-5:50

Actual:

2 mile warmup
7.5 miles in 45:30 (6;04 pace)
6:13, 6:08, 6:05, 6:04, 6:00, 6:00, 6:05, 3:02
3 mile cool down

Legs got a little tired towards the end, and my hamstring felt really tight so I called it quits a little early. Definitely not what I wanted, but if stopping early means that I didn't pull my hamstring, then I'm going to stop.  I fortunately had the company of Chris, Brad, and Caleb on this one and even though we started at 5:20am, it was totally worth it for getting it done.  The humidity level was rather high, which definitely affected our pace, but I was happy with the effort for the first 6 miles for sure.

I'm probably going to scratch my workout of mile repeats for later this week because I can tell that my hamstring doesn't react well to the speedy stuff whatsoever.  Hopefully that will be what I need to keep my streak of high mileage going strong.

Long Run + 8 Mile Wave Tempo

Goal:
16 Miles + 8-10 Mile Wave

Actual:
4 miles warmup
8 miles wave in 47:44 (5:52, 6:14, 5:50, 6:06, 5:44, 6:01, 5:43, 6:10)
4 miles cool down

Caleb and I continued our tradition of doing long tempos at McMullen together today.  This time he drove us down to the McMullen entrance, where the skies seemed to be holding out just long enough for us to get the majority of our run in without a torrential downpour.  Going into this, my legs felt a little heavy still (potentially from my wimpy hike on Sunday?), but I figured I would still be able to hit my times.  The plan was to start on the easy interval, but Caleb and I took it out a little hard in the first 400m, so we had a change of plans and swapped it for the fast interval.  We ran to the four mile mark and back for the tempo portion, and the rain held off until mile 3.  I am surprised we were able to maintain our paces because the wooden pathways got a little slippery and I could tell that I was running more tentatively and timidly with each step forward. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad and didn't affect my workout.  Upon the turn around, we had turned up the heat on the paces.  Our "easy" pace inched closer and closer to 6:00 and I felt grand...until the last mile.  It wasn't like the wheels came off, but they unraveled a little bit.  My legs just couldn't pick up and move as quickly (and as easily) as they had before.  I could tell that Caleb was holding back and that he could have easily finished in a 6:00 flat mile, but he was a gentleman and stayed back with me as I willed the starting line to magically appear in front of my path.  We finished up the run just as it stopped raining as hard, so for our cool down we didn't have to worry about pouring rain dripping into our eyes again.

Since this is my last big workout before the USA half champs, I am very pleased with this effort.  I believe that I can run 5:50 pace for a half marathon and this workout as cemented that belief for me.  If I can run 5:50 pace for a 10 miler, then I should be able to add on a 5k at the same pace.  The most important piece to the puzzle now is to mentally prepare for my goals.  I haven't been injured (knock on wood) in the last three years, and all of that hard work is going to pay off in Duluth.

800m Repeats

Goal:
8-10x800m with 2:00 rest

Actual:
3 mile warmup
8x800m at 2:40-2:42 with 2:00-2:20 jog rest
3.5 mile cool down for ~11 miles total

I'm pretty sure that this morning at the Speed Loop there were over 10 people doing various speed workouts. David, Chad and Pezz did 1000s.  Spada, Mike, Caleb, AJ and I were doing 800s.  Danielle, Michelle, Billy, and Carolyn all did different workouts.  It was definitely the largest showing that has ever appeared at the Speed Loop during the early morning hours.  For me, after closing out my previous week with a solid wave workout and steady state long run, I was just hoping to finish this one.  I could tell after the first interval that it was going to be a struggle for me to dip under 2:40, and turns out that I was right.  I stayed right at 2:40 through 6 intervals and then for the last two, I lost my main training buddies and lost my motivation to keep pushing for 2:40.  At the same time, my legs got increasingly harder to pick up off the asphalt and I finished the 8th one in 2:42, feeling tired and ready to be done.  After gathering the troops, we made our way back towards the Dowd before I veered off towards my house to head home.  I've just come to realization that even if I don't always run that fast in my speed workouts, it will still help me stay fit.  I've been finding that it's much easier for me to really push it in the tempos, which I enjoy much more than the speed work.

10 Mile Tempo

Goal:
60 min tempo at 600-605 pace

Actual:
2.25 mile warmup
10 mile tempo in 59:23 for 5:56 pace (5;58, 5:49, 5:54, 5:57, 5:59, 5:52, 5:57, 5:54, 5:58, 6:00)
1.25 mile cooldown for 13.5 miles total

Caleb and I decided to be environmental today and carpooled to McMullen this morning for our tempo.  I was pleasantly surprised when he texted me yesterday about joining the workout.  I've always known that Caleb can workout with me, but he just didn't believe it yet.  I hoped today's workout would change his attitude on that.  We pulled into McMullen just as Mike Kahn pulled in as well.  After some aimless wandering in the parking lot, we started a slow warmup before turning around to find Spada, who had to drop his kids off at school.  We rounded back to the start line, did some strides, and all toed the line together.  My plan had been to go out in 6:20 and to gradually get faster, with hopes of hitting 5:50s for the last couple of miles.  Spada had other plans.  After about 400 meters with Kahn and I leading in what was apparently too pedestrian of a pace, Spada bolted ahead to take the lead.  Through the first mile, I even said out loud "6:02--we're fast."  This didn't phase anyone.  Spada pulled another couple of meters on Kahn and I.  Caleb even pulled ahead to go stride-for-stride with Spada.  Kahn was my trusty sidekick as we relaxed behind the two who were dueling.  By mile 2, the pace had dropped considerably, and, in doing so, we had dropped Kahn who is coming back from injury.  After a couple of minutes, Caleb dropped back to stick with me.  We ran the rest of the tempo together, side by side.  Spada continued to maintain a 10 meter lead on us through 3.5 miles.  Soon, I could tell that we were catching up to Spada and passed him just before the 4 mile marker.  I wanted to say out loud that we had just passed our motivation to keep the pace strong, but I didn't because I felt like saying it out loud would make the pace falter.

We got to the 5-mile turnaround and I think this mile is a little short, so you might need to add like 5-8 seconds onto my overall time.  After the turnaround, I broke everything down into multiples of 6.   This seemed to help a ton as at this point I could the effects of the Cardio Latin dance class I had taken the night before, especially in my hips and calves.  Caleb's presence helped considerably as we ran stride for stride and he pushed on the uphills while I pushed on the downhills.  His Garmin was completely off on the mile markers, so I tried to ignore his beeps that were putting us as a slower pace than what the markers on the path were telling me.  With just two miles to go, I tried to remain as relaxed as possible. I noticed that even though my legs were crying for me to stop that my breathing was fairly controlled--or, at the very least, it was relaxed.  It didn't start to feel taxing on me until the 9th mile, quite possibly due to the change in terrain from asphalt to cinder.  I clung to Caleb like he was my lifeline because I knew that if he dropped me, I would completely fall off pace.  Somehow we ran through the finish line right on pace. 

A couple of thoughts on the workout. 

1. Caleb Boyd is in shape.  He might not have believed it before, but now he sure as hell better.
2. This is the first time that I've run under 6:00 pace for a long tempo.  Side Note:  this is also the first time I've run a long tempo at McMullen that wasn't a steady state long run.  Clearly, the terrain here is much more conducive to faster times than McAlpine's terrain. 
3. This is a confidence booster going into the half marathon champs in just one month. 

Overall, I'm very pleased with this workout.  Looks like the hard work that I put in over March and April is finally starting to pay off and I'm seeing improvements in my times in workouts that I've done in the past.  Now, I can focus on moving for the rest of the weekend!

Success in Summer: 4x1.5 Mile

Goal:
4x1.5 mile at 6:00, 5:50 and faster with 3:00 jog rest

Actual:
26 min warmup for 3.2 miles

Total Time - Mile Split - (rest)
1 - 8:37 - 5:45 (3:00)
2 - 8:34 - 5:41 (3:00)
3 - 8:37 - 5:43 (4:30 - pee break)
4 - 8:31 - 5:38

18 min cool down for 2.2 miles

After a quick chat last night, Meagan and I decided to do our workout in Dilworth instead of at McAlpine.  Due to this July heat, we wanted to start off at a relatively conservative pace (6:00) and get faster.  This morning, Meagan and I met at the Freedom Park bathrooms at 7:05AM to continue our way up to the corner of Worthington and Dilworth Rd E to meet Caleb and Billy.

After situating my water bottle in a nearby tree and wiping my sweat off with the towel that I brought along, we toed the white line and waited for the beep of my garmin.  For the first one, the pacing was left up to me and Meagan told me she was going to rely on me to bring us through in a controlled pace.  Through the first 600m, we were around 5:55 pace.  Apparently my internal pace calculator didn't like that and by the mile, we had picked it up to 5:45.  It should be noted that there is a nice down hill that helps propel the pace to a faster time.  We formed a nice square with Billy and I in the lead, Meagan on my shoulder, and Caleb behind Billy.  I felt really controlled and relaxed at the completion of this one.  On the second interval, the goal was to go out easy again but somehow we came through in 5:42.  My body felt great though so we continued to push through.

For the third and fourth intervals, I noticed that in the first 600m, my legs felt really heavy and sore, but that the feeling would go away as we got further into the repeat.  I will account this to the slight uphill that characterizes the first part of this loop. Further, my breathing adjusted as my legs adjusted.  I felt like my breathing was a lot heavier in the first part and then would settle down at the same time my legs felt better.  I would rather that my breathing is not affected by how my body feels, so I really need to focus on not letting my physical feelings affect my mentality and therefore my breathing. If I start to get freaked out, it affects my breathing and that could be detrimental, especially in a longer race. 

I'd also like to point out that I ran all of these faster than when I did this workout in the same location back on June 3rd.  It was hotter today, so that's a really good sign of improvement.

I will also note that I'm really proud of Meagan because she was having a hard time breathing on the third one, but she really pulled it together on the fourth interval to bring the breathing back under control.  What i love most about working out with Meagan is that when she's having a hard time, I can provide her the words of encouragement that she needs to hear.  She does the same thing for me when I'm having difficulty.  The two races we have planned for this fall - the 13.1 Minneapolis and the Army Ten Miler - will be really special for me because I know that Meagan and I will be able to work together to push each other and also have a great time doing it. 

Caleb also stayed with us through 2.5 intervals and Billy shined on the fourth. All in all, we had a good time in the 80 degrees this morning.  The best part was definitely getting cold water on Rebecca's porch.