Good Times at the River

16 min. w/u (2 miles)
Target: 3 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, 2 mile @6:30-6:40 pace w/800m jog rest
Actual: 19:47 (6:41, 6:34, 6:32); 13:11 (6:36, 6:35); 19:43 (6:34, 6:40, 6:29); 13:11 (6:37, 6:34)
12 min. c/d (1.5 miles)
Total: 15 miles

Well. This certainly didn't end up feeling as easy as I thought it would. The first interval was quite comfortable but things got ugly in a hurry. The second three-mile interval (and particularly the second mile of this interval) was one of the low points of my entire life. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but it was certainly the low point of this workout. As I told Jilane and Jeff later, "I felt like a Special Olympian out there." To be honest I wasn't sure how the last interval would pan out, but I managed to hold it together and resisted the temptation to fling myself into the river. Round about the halfway point of that segment, I found myself engaging in an internal dialogue that went something like this:

Me #1: I'm pretty sure I can't go any faster.
Me #2: Then don't.
Me #1: But this is embarrassing. I should not be trying this hard and still running so slowly.
Me #2: Well, are you putting forth your best effort?
Me #1: Well yeah.
Me #2: Then that's all you can ask for. Now shut up and finish the workout.

I'm not schizophrenic, by the way. Also, a word about the dirt surface of the trail. I have to believe/hope/pray that it adds at least 5-7 seconds per mile versus the road or track. I feel so slow and am constantly without traction here. That said, the ability to run 15 miles and never once touch pavement is wonderful from a self-preservation standpoint, so it's not like I'm complaining per se. Just hopeful that my sluggishness isn't 100% my own fault.

Overall, I thought I would be able to run considerably faster on this workout, and got a rude awakening. I'm trying to put a positive spin on things and say that I ran 15 miles with 10 miles @ 6:35 pace. That doesn't sound too bad.