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!

7x1000m with 300m jog

Goal:

7x1000m with 400m jog rest

Actual:

3.5 miles warmup

7x1000m at

3:24 (800m split 2:42)

3:19 (800m split 2:38)
3:19 (800m split 2:37)
3:20 (800m split 2:39)
3:19 (800m split 2:38)
3:14 (400m splits 75, 800m split 2:34)
3:14 (800m split 2:34)

with 300m jog between
2.5 miles cool down for 11.3 miles total

After fitting in a late night conversation into my night time routine, I got to bed a lot later than I had hoped and woke up this morning feeling exhausted.  After I jumped out of bed, I suddenly felt much more lively and had high hopes for the work out.  I headed out my door with a Timex water bottle, hoping that the water on hand would bring a sense of comfort toward the latter part of the intervals. 
 
The early morning hours didn't stop anyone else in the Charlotte running community to come out to beat the heat.  Once I made my way over to Dilworth Rd West, I already had spotted Tim Rhodes, Aprille Schaffer, Larry and Kathy Seavers, and Pete (and many more!).  Eventually I ran into Stephen Spada, who was finally able to join me for a work out since his son's lacrosse season is over.  (Apparently their team posted a record of 26-2!)  A couple of minutes later, we picked Eric up and waited for him to stretch before we began our attack on 1000m repeats.
 
The goal was the run the 800m Dilworth Speed Loop but to add on 200m since there is a mark in the sidewalk on East Blvd that Stephen told us about.  You can see our route in the map below.  With our course marked at every 200m, we set off on our first one on feel.  We started at a relatively conservative pace, going through an 82 in the first 400m. It felt easy.  After that one, I mused to Eric and Stephen that for the next couple, I would like to stay above 2:40 for the 800m split.  Did that happen?  Not so much.
 
We didn't go over 2:40 for the rest of the workout.  In fact, I felt smooth and relaxed until about the 6th and 7th repeats, but by that time, Justin Breland had randomly joined in for the fun, so I had an entourage of three guys around me to push and motivate me.  In fact, Justin somehow had enough energy to say encouraging phrases to Stephen and I like: "Wow! You guys look great!" 
 
After the fifth one, I told Spada that he could take off on these next two because I didn't want to hold him back at all.  He must have listened to me because he took off like a bat out of hell in the first 200m and we cruised through the first 400m in 75 seconds.  I had a brief moment of panic, brushed it away, and pushed through the Dilworth Rd E turn.  Suddenly I was ahead of the guys and found yet another gear to push through the small hill before the 800m mark.  We cruised through the finish in my fastest split of the day:  3:14.  The best part about the work out was that I was able to run another 3:14 for the 7th and final interval.
 
After we finished, we grabbed water with PROPEL at Rebecca's front porch.  Was it the best propel ever?  Yes.  While sipping on my sweet grape drink, I was able to reflect on my completed work out.  I definitely was happy with how things had turned out. 
 
It could be true that the 1000m Dilworth Speed Loop is a bit off, but I wore my garmin and it consistently had .63 miles, which is technically longer than 1000m.  Regardless, I was able to post my two fastest splits of the day at the very end of the work out and also maintain a fast speed going into a sharp turn onto East Blvd.  I pushed through when it hurt most and took advantage of the competition from the guys around me.  I can tell that my speed is definitely coming along.  I haven't run a 1000m at sub-3:20 in a REALLY long time so it felt great to walk away from the Dilworth Speed Loop with a new workout "PR."

The 1000m Dilworth Speed Loop

Major Confidence Booster

Goal:
3x2 mile with paces at 6:00, 5:50, 5:40

Actual:
3.4 mile warmup
3x2 mile with 2:15 rest at 11:49 (5:53, 5:56), 11:15 (5:40, 5:35), 11:06 (5:33, 5:33)
3.4 mile cool down for 12.7 miles total

I woke up this morning with a feeling that my legs were going to be ready for this workout.  With everyone running Race Fest this weekend, I struggled to find running partners for this until the very last minute.  I was fortunate to have company from Eric and Justin this morning as we met at Rebecca's house at 7am. I enjoyed a nice warmup on my own my from my house to get in over 3 miles and then did a couple of light strides and stretches before heading to the start line.  

Going into this workout, I had set out rather low goals for the paces.  I originally had intended to run 6:00 pace for the first set, and then drop 10 seconds per interval.  However, if I feel good in a workout, the intended goal pace is thrown out the window and I just run on how I'm feeling.  This was definitely the case today

For the first set, we went out at a relaxed pace and I was chatting it up with Justin.  My breathing was under control and I did not feel like I was labored at all, in fact.  It was a great feeling, so I knew that I would be picking it up on the next one so that it actually felt hard.

For the next set, Eric hung back at 5:50 pace, and Justin helped me for the first 800m and the last 800m.  It was helpful to have Justin there, especially during the slight uphills in the last mile.  I felt like I was pushing it this time, but I was not going into overdrive and I was relaxed.

For the final set, I was pretty much solo until there were 1200m to go.  I could tell this one was fast because my breathing was fast and labored.  It was difficult to keep my mind focused when I was out there on the road by myself, but I kept reminding myself that Eric and Justin would be joining soon. I went through this mile in 5:33.  Eric and Justin hopped in a pushed me to complete the last mile in another 5:33.  I had to work on this one, but it wasn't like I was going to the well.  

I feel really happy about this workout because I was able to run way faster than a terrible mile repeat workout I had in the beginning of March.  It just goes to show that when you have a bad workout, it's not an indicator of your fitness.  Rather, it's a mere indicator of how your body was feeling that day.  Stress from outside sources can impact the way your workout goes on any given day, and sometimes it just doesn't pan out.  However, today everything synced together well as both my mind and body were in the right state of being.  Based on this workout, I can go into the USA 25k Championships with confidence that I can achieve my goals.