Solid Predator Effort

AM: 15 mins. ellip.
60 mins. weights + core
PM: 2.5 mile w/u
Target: 3 mile predator faster than last week
Actual: 17:09 (5:40, 5:53, 5:36)
2.5 mile c/d
Total: 8 miles

Today's predator run kicked ass. This was the best workout I've ever done at McAlpine, and I felt fantastic doing it. It certainly didn't hurt that we had absolutely gorgeous weather this afternoon--when's the last time I've been able to say that on a workout day??--temperatures in the upper 50s, sunny, with a light breeze. I actually went with the team to practice, though none of the girls had workouts planned because most of them had raced at App State the previous day. Instead, I would be starting my predator run with Alex, Mike and Futsum. I guess I just assumed I'd be doing a standard out-and-back since that's what we normally do during predator runs, so my conversation with Simmons at the starting line looked something like this:

Me: So, isn't the mile and a half mark just before the big hill?
SS: Yeah, but that doesn't matter.
Me: Um, yes it does...that's where I'm turning around.
SS: No, you're just running the Footlocker course. I thought I told you?
Me: Oh. Well. Glad we cleared that up.

I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of running the course, as I knew the second mile with The Hill would most certainly slow me down and fatigue the legs for the final mile. I resolved to go out conservatively and then see how I felt post-Hill. That strategy went out the window when I more or less took the pace out at a sprint. To be fair, starting with the guys threw me off. They were so far ahead of me so early on that I just assumed I was going waaaay too slow. Instead, I split the first 800 at 2:44. Oops. For the next half mile I just concentrated on relaxing my breathing and settling into a more reasonable pace, splitting the mile at 5:40. The second mile went better than expected, and I was pleased to split under 6 minutes despite the hill. My legs didn't feel too bad going up the steep incline but I could feel the pace lagging, and unfortunately I wasn't able to gain much of it back on the descent either. I'm kind of a wuss running down the back of the hill, and I tend to tiptoe gingerly instead of barreling full bore. In my defense, the last thing I need right now is a twisted ankle or a headfirst fall into the pond, but my cautious tactics certainly didn't help the overall workout time. The third and final mile went better than expected as well; I kept waiting for the ambitious pace to catch up with my legs, but I felt strong throughout. I know there are debates about the third mile being short (and I've always maintained that it is, though Simmons disagrees), so I added on a few meters past the official mile marker just so I could sleep at night. I couldn't believe I ended up running 30 seconds faster than last week on a more difficult course and felt so much better doing it. Things are going scarily well right now, which always makes me nervous, but I'm not complaining just yet!