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.

3x2 Mile Bust

Goal:
3x2 Mile with 2:00 Rest at 11:30-1:40 (5:45-5:50 pace)

Actual:
4 mile warmup
3x2 mile at:
5:55/5:45 (11:40) 2 min jog rest
6:08/5:57 (12:05) 3 min jog rest
5:56/6:08 (12:04)
1 mile cool down for 11+ miles total

I am really trying to stay positive here, but workouts like this really make me wonder what the hell is going on.  I've been on a strict iron supplementation program for the past four weeks and would expect that I could run 5:45 pace without sucking air.  Well, I can't.  Halfway through the second interval, I fought everything within myself not to stop and walk.  My muscles wanted it, my lungs wanted, and my mind almost wanted it.  But I didn't stop. I made myself push through it until the end, and then I took a longer rest between 2 and 3 so that my breathing could get back under control.

I would say that perhaps I went out too fast, but my first interval was practically all downhill from Mint to Morehead.  Hooray, I can run 5:45 pace going downhill.  I used to be able to run 5:45 pace on flat surface without thinking.  I can't image that it's just my iron that is affecting me right now, but whatever it is, it's not helping my frame of mind.  I've got Army Ten Miler in 9 days and I have no idea how to make a race plan if I don't even know what my body (mind?) can handle right now.  First plan of action is to head into LabCorp later today to get blood work done and see if my iron is finally higher.  If not, then I'll have some reevaluating to do.

The only thing I can think of is that I really need to slow everything down, kind of like what I did before Twin Cities.  For workouts like this, I would start at Marathon Pace for the first interval (6:10, 10k (5:50) pace for the second one, and like 5k-10k pace for the third one (542).