6 x Wow...

For anyone who has actually read this blog consistently, you may have noticed that I had gone away from posting about individual days, opting instead to reflect on individual weeks at a time.  This was by design, a way for me to keep my eye on the bigger picture rather than getting so hung up on each day.  That is part of the reason why I got into trouble and overdid it in the Spring.  I was so adamant about getting in each and every mile that I lost sight of the purpose of training.

Well, I'm making an exception today since I really seem to be hitting my stride at a new level now, and I wanted to make sure to record the moment.  Of course, you are never as good as you are on your good days, and never as bad on those bad days.  However, these Tuesday night track workouts I've been doing have been getting better and better and on the whole, I can feel myself getting stronger.

The workout today...6 x 1600 meter with a 200 meter jog in between.  Doing workouts with a group of people adds a different dynamic and can completely change the workout depending on who you try and run with.  Today I ended up trying to stay with people that are much faster than me.  Though the pace may have been easier for them, it was certainly tougher for me!

The first three were relatively easy; 5:48, 5:45, 5:38...half marathon pace or "slightly slower than tempo" pace.

It was a blur of pain after that...5:32, 5:24, 5:13

Based on my Philly half, the 5:32 was still theoretically in that tempo zone, but those last two were basically 5K pace.  By the time we did the 5:13, it was so dark I couldn't see the splits on my watch.  It was probably better that way.  That 5:13 was not easy to keep and I was glad it was the last rep because I was done after that!

I managed to survive and though it certainty felt like a workout, I'm not completely dead right now.  My left quad is also completely fine after taking a day off yesterday.  If this won't bother it, then it is healthy!  I'll have to see how I feel tomorrow (only an afternoon run), but I'm expecting to feel pretty good meaning that this workout was dead on.

I guess I must be doing something right!