Meagan Visits the Well

Time: 94:36
Distance: 12.76 miles

W/u: ~20 minutes for 2.5 miles
W/o: 3 x 6 mins with 90 secs hard to start (3 mins rest), 4 x hill (1 min rest), 5 x pond (2 mins rest)
C/d: 15:51 for ~2 miles

Today was the day that I was hoping to send Meagan to the well. She ran incredibly strong and came back with a big bucket of water. I designed this workout specifically with Club XC in mind and wanted it to go well. Caitlin joined us for a good portion of the workout too during her lunch break.

The purpose of the workout was to simulate as much as possible the 6k race to be run at club cross. I wanted the first section to mimic the start of the race where 300 women will be battling for position. We began with 90 seconds run at 5:15 to 5:20 pace and then settled into a pace that took us through the mile in a solid clip. Hopefully the legs would be tired after the first three intervals and the lungs opened up because the hill was next.

Over at the hill we ran 4 x a loop that was roughly 500 meters long. We attacked on the uphill and tried to find the best route down as possible. Meagan will need to catch or distance herself come race day and I wanted her comfortable with both the ascent and descent. The rest was kept short on purpose to not allow the heart rate to fall.

The third section had us focusing on running efficiently and fast with tired legs. We looped the pond (roughly 600 meters) 5 times with 2 minutes rest. The goal was to be able to find that rhythm late in the race and be able to push through the hurting legs during the final 2k.

Splits:
3 x 6 mins with 90 seconds hard -
6:00 for 1.05 miles (5:42 through the mile), (2:58);
6:00 for 1.08 miles (5:33 through the mile), (3:00);
6:00 for 1.09 miles (5:32 through the mile), (3:04);

4 x hill* -
1:52 for .32 miles (5:56 pace), (60);
1:51 for .33 miles (5:39 pace), (61);
1:52 for .32 miles (5:55 pace), (60);
1:54 for .32 miles (5:54 pace), (3:01);
*not sure why the pace isn't more consistent

5 x pond -
2:00 for .37 miles (5:30 pace), (2:01);
2:00 for .36 miles (5:29 pace), (2:00);
1:59 for .36 miles (5:30 pace), (2:01);
1:59 for .36 miles (5:27 pace), (2:00)
1:57 for .36 miles (5:23 pace)

Total of 58:45 and 8.26 miles at 7:07 pace. These are my totals and distance which include a little more jogging than Meagan.

I couldn't have been more pleased with how the workout turned out. I could tell that Meagan was uncomfortable with the first section especially with the 90 seconds hard. She hasn't done anything nearly that fast recently, but that's how the cross country race is going to be. There will be 300 women trying to fit on a 10 foot wide trail and if you're not in the top 50 by 800 meters, than forget about your chances for doing well. The hills went well and I hope she became a little more comfortable with running hard downhill. She closed out the workout running hard but relaxed at the pace she'll need to race at. It was great having Caitlin out there too. She was incredibly strong on the opening intervals and kept the pace honest for Meagan.

Meagan's recap.
Caitlin's recap.