Run fast, repeat

Pre-workout fuel: HALF of a banana drizzled with honey and a dash of cinnamon, along with a half-cup of half-caff coffee
Workout: Ran 6.00 miles in 52 minutes, 29 seconds; average pace, 8:45.

Mile repeats scare the crap out of me. From the moment I see them on the schedule to the night before to when I'm eating breakfast to the instant I hit the lap button on the good ole Garmin, I'm flat-out terrified. I'm not sure why, exactly. They just do.
So it was with that fear that I headed out with Mark to tackle 3x1 mile repeats at a goal pace of 8:20.

Warm-up: I struggled to find a good pace. At times I felt too slow, others I noticed we were going to fast. I hate these warm-up paces with Mark because I feel guilty going too slow even though I need to. And the mile always seems so long as the anticipation of what's to come drives me nuts.

Repeat No. 1: My legs felt a little heavy, and I tried to find a good pace. This mile was definitely slower in the beginning and faster at the end. 8:07

Repeat No. 2: Why did Mark bring the dog? Ugh. I suggested that we keep him at home because the 6-mile run was going to be too much but noooo. We had to bring him. Too bad I was holding the leash and Denali was holding me back. About .6 in, we took a break to give Denali more water and switch the leash responsibility. I took off trying to gain back time on the repeat. 8:04

Repeat No. 3: It was just me now. Just me and the too gorgeous big, expensive homes on the boulevard that I use for my track. Mark took Denali home, and it was up to me to make sure I a) finished this repeat; and b) finished it well. I knew about a quarter-mile in that I was going fast but I didn't dare look at the Garmin. I didn't want to know how far I still had to go. I just used my fave houses as landmarks and kept going. I looked down as the Garmin beeped: 7:47. My fastest mile to date (I think). I stopped and wondered whether I was going to die puke. Fifteen seconds later I was off to cool down.

Cool down: I felt really good that last mile. It felt slow and I got my breathing back. I actually got to look at my favorite homes. I thought about going farther but there was a pang in my belly that was asking for a veggie egg white melt from my kitchen.

I came home and was greeted by a still-panting Denali.


He was pretty happy with his 3.5 miles, and I have to say I was pretty happy with my 6. I just I hope I remember this feeling the next time the schedule calls for repeats!