4 sets of 1 mile and 2 x 200

If it is Wednesday, then I am nixing my early morning sleep for a chance to run with a group at PDS. At 5:15 Megan and I headed out for a little warm up. A second group led by Paul was leaving at 5:30 so we circled back to mix in with them.

Not sure what time we actually reached the track. But after a few strides, I was ready to get started. To my surprise, Caleb opted for our workout over the 800s workout with Paul’s group.

Based on my workout a couple of weeks ago, I felt like I was capable of running in the 5:55 to 6 minute range.

Megan, Caleb, and I headed off for the first set. We quickly went single file with Caleb letting me set the pace. I was trying to set an even pace and used my breathing to tell me if it was too fast. I figured Caleb would take over if he felt like running faster.

We finished the first mile together. I clicked my Garmin to save the split – 5:38. Wow, I was not expecting this time. We hit the 2 x 200 to finish out the first set: 41 and 42.

Mile 2 was pretty much the same Caleb settled in right behind me until we came off the final corner on the 4th lap – 5:36. My 2 x 200 were in 42 and 41.

Again Caleb followed me until we came off the final turn when he pulled alongside to finish – 5:32. Caleb and Megan were flying in the 2 x 200s. My splits remained consist at 41 to 42. They were both dipping up the 40 second mark for the 200s.

My legs were starting to have the lactic acid burn in them, but with just one more set to go, I tried to ignore the desire to slow down.

For 2 laps, I felt pretty decent and tried to keep the pace similar to the earlier intervals. However, on the 3rd lap I was starting waiver a little. I could feel the pace slipping. Caleb really helped when he came up earlier than usual and started forging ahead. Taking my que from him I tried to match him stride for stride over the remaining distance.

We finished in 5:32 with my 2 x 200s in 42 and 43. My tank was pretty empty at this point. A short cool down followed. I didn’t want to do too much. After all, we were already at nearly 11 miles.

We caught up with Paul’s group for a few additional minutes of their cool down run.

With the temperature hoovering around 60 degrees and a little muggy, this still turned into an awesome morning for running.
The assist from Caleb and Megan made it all the better.

 

Sharing one thought at a time,

The Cool Down Runner

 

 

 

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