Test the Body at JCSU

Time: 69:04
Distance: 10.11 miles

W/u: 24:37 for 3.25 miles
W/o: 3 x mile (2:25 first 800, 2:15 second 800) w/ 4 mins rest. 4 x 400 in 62-65 w/ 1 min rest.
C/d: 20:02 for 2.11 miles

Today I was going to be traveling with Carol Amrani who works for Balega. My scheduling meant I had to either fit in a workout prior to visiting stores or after the day was done. I voted for driving over to Caitlin's where I was to check up on her cat Cicero, warm up over to JCSU, run my workout, cool down back to Caitlin's, shower and be on the road to meet up at Fleet Feet Huntersville by 11:00 am. It's all about time management.

I had a nice easy warm up through Uptown and got to point at all the bankers rushing off to work. They were dressed in their business attire, strolled along with their shined shoes and chatted on business Blackberries. In contrast, I was in my split cut shorts, carried my water bottle and racing flats while trying not to sweat on them at stop lights. I don't take my schedule for granted one bit, it's one of the perks of my job.

I was good and warm by the time I hit the track. The objective of the workout was to change gears after 800m of the mile repeats (really 1600m repeats). I wanted to feel relaxed as possible through 800m and then quicken the stride for a couple of minutes to hit a goal split of 4:40. Things went well.

Splits:
Mile #1 - 4:41.72 (2:25, 2:16),
(4:00 rest); jogged 400m and waited

Mile #2 - 4:40.85 (2:26, 2:14),
(3:59 rest); jogged 400m and waited

Mile 3 - 4:42.65 (2:27, 2:15),
(4:00 rest); jogged 400m and waited

400s - 65.38 (60), 66.40 (61), 65.50 (61), 63.91 for 4 miles total and ~18:25 running time.

The workout was exhausting. I had to remain focused the whole time and couldn't let my mind or body wander from the task at hand. It was relatively enjoyable being able to change gears mid-interval. After the first two repeats I was struggling but knew I could make it the first 800m on the final mile effort. It was just a matter of keeping it together for the final two laps. I hung on to finish a little slow, but still respectable. Considering the temps and humidity have returned I think the miles went well. The 400s were another story.

I struggled to turn the legs over at the prescribed paces. I wanted to run 64-65 but I was about a second off for the first three. On top of that some lady just wouldn't get out of lane one despite the fact that I had passed her repeatedly. After the final interval I was spent. I gasped for air and think it was the hardest workout I've done in a few months. I'm not sure if it was designed to be so tough, but it was. You can see how tired I was from the pace of my cool down. I essentially walked back through Uptown to Caitlin's house. This time the bankers were probably pointing and laughing at me.