Tempo!!!

I've attempted something similar to today's workout 5 times, but I've only completed it once before today. The goal is 3 miles @ 7:30 pace, 6 x 800m @ 3:21 each, 3 miles @ 7:03 pace. Man, that workout is HARD!! But the triumph of finishing it is pretty sweet!

It was a little chillier than I expected this morning! I met Matt on my jog over to the Athens High 1.5 mile track where we did the required 6 laps before jogging back home. Well, I didn't jog all the way home. I had my wife pick me up at Matt's house because I was completely toasted. 3/4 mile more was just too much to ask.

I don't have the exact splits for the first 3 miles, but they were right at 7:30. The Garmin had them at 7:10, 7:16, and 6:53. But it beeped and auto-lapped before I hit a good known mile marker on the track. It was just a few seconds optimistic this morning. Those splits were more like 7:25, 7:30, 7:15 or so. Estimating.

The 0.5 miles were... 3:12, 3:17, 3:20, 3:19, 3:17, 3:15. After the 4th one, Matt pointed out that we carried on a conversation for most of that 0.5 mile. Hmmm. We must be getting fitter! A conversation at a 6:40 pace? That was impossible not very long ago.

Now, this next part is the hardest part of the workout! I've always struggled to finish it. Running 3 miles at 7:00 pace isn't that bad. Running 3 miles at 7:00 pace is very difficult after running 6 pretty hard miles before it. I'm VERY pleased with these splits!

1. 7:01
2. 6:53
3. 6:55

As I was running that last mile one from a group of men more senior than I asked if I were on my 10th lap! I just grunted, "Almost!" A grunt was about all I could manage at this point!! I see those men most mornings that I go to the track. It's good to see so many people getting out and exercising even when the weather isn't the most comfortable.

BIG props to Matt for finishing this workout on his first attempt. He was about a quarter mile behind me at the very end, but what he accomplished today is VERY impressive! This was my fifth attempt at this or a similar workout. I'm only 2 for 5 on finishing it. So, way to go, dude.

Today's total, counting warmup and cool down was just a shade over 12 miles.