In Need of Speed

Wednesday, 2/21
3 mile w/u
Fartlek of (:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 1:30, 1:00, :30) x 2
2 mile c/d
Total: ~9 miles

Friday, 2/23
AM: 4 miles easy
PM: 2.5 mile w/u
Target: 10x400m w/1 min. rest; 5 @78 and 5@76
Actual: 75, 79, 76, 76, 75, 74, 72, 74, 73, 73
2.5 mile c/d
Total: 8 miles
Daily total: 12 miles

Switching gears a little bit after Mercedes, I want to focus on putting a little pep in my step for the remainder of the spring. On Wednesday morning I ventured out for a solo fartlek to test the waters leading up the week's main event...a good old-fashioned Dilworth Speed Loop workout with Caitlin! Yes, I'm in Charlotte for work this weekend, and nothing feels more like coming home than pushing myself up and down the familiar Queen City streets with my favorite Charlotte training partner. (Actually, it would've felt more normal had we done this before the crack of dawn as planned. But maybe we've gotten a little soft in our old age. When we woke at 5:30am to 37 degrees and raining, we opted to catch a few more hours of sleep and postpone the hard effort until after work...when it turned out to still be 37 and raining. Oh well.)

To be honest, I think both of us were a little nervous about this workout despite the relatively conservative splits that Jordan had prescribed. I haven't done anything this short and fast in a long time, and Caitlin has only been working out for a few weeks. Plus, the Speed Loop, despite embodying everything its moniker implies, is no track. Negotiating turns, dodging traffic and rolling with the terrain would present an added challenge and would no doubt increase the level of effort required to hit splits that appeared easy enough on paper.

I should've known, however, that there was no need to be anxious. If any two people can strike the perfect balance between competing with and motivating each other, it's Caitlin and me. Despite our burning lungs and legs (hers bright red thanks to the biting conditions and a poorly conceived wardrobe choice), we followed the workout to the letter and ended up easily besting the desired splits. And with only a minute between each rep, the session flew by faster than any in recent memory. Speedwork may never be my forte nor my favorite type of session, but taking on the challenge with Caitlin matching me stride for stride actually made a dreaded workout, dare I say it, a pretty darn fun way to spend a cold and rainy Friday afternoon.