4 mile Tempo + 400s

Goal:
5 mile tempo in GHMP

Actual:
3.1 mile warmup
4 mile tempo in 23:40 5:55 (5:53, 6:00, 5:56, 5:52) + 400m in 79
3 mile cool down  for 11 miles total

The plan was to do whatever tempo Laurie was doing, but she had a rough night of sleep, so I was left to hopefully run with Jay Barringer.  Well, he didn't show up at the Dilworth Speed Loop at 6AM, so I had to find my own intrinsic motivation to get the work done.  While I am very appreciative of the running club and the plethora of group runs it offers, it has made me somewhat of a baby when it comes to working out on my own.  I guess it kind of makes sense because even in college, I rarely ran alone, and even if I did, my coach was there to support me.

To ensure that I got the work done, I decided to run the 800m speed loop four times.  After my garmin clicked off 2 miles, I headed to the standard 2 mile part and stopped after 4 miles.  Then I decided to do 4x400m to give my legs a little bit of a kick since I have an 8k coming up on Saturday.  While I would have liked to had faster splits for the tempo, I was pleased with how I bounced back after a slower 2nd mile.  The 400s didn't feel spectacular, but the point was not necessarily to go fast, but rather to get the legs going at a speed faster than tempo.

My goal for the half in June is to start out at 5:55 pace and then to gradually drop down to 5:50 so that I can be poised for a PR (faster than 1:17:50).  I think that if I continue to get these tempos done with company, I'll prove to myself that my goal is realistic.

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).