6/19 - 6/22

6/22 - 17 min E + 3 x 1600 (5:04.3 - 5:07.3 - 5:08.3) + 20 min E
6/21 - 35 min E
6/20 - 31 min E
6/19 - 15 min E + 8K tempo (27:34) + 10 min E

I could still feel Thursday's tempo when I warmed up this morning. 27:34 for 8K isn't quite race pace but it isn't far from it, either. I expected fatigue on Fri/Sat but was a little concerned that I didn't feel 100% today. Target pace was 5:08 (77 sec laps).

Because of the sluggish warm up I was thinking this during the first hard lap: "77 isn't too bad when I'm rested, but I'm not, so I'll have to push." That thinking, of course, resulted in a way too fast opening lap (71 sec). I dialed it down and did the last 1200 slightly below target. The second 1600 was perfect; five minutes of bliss.

I still felt strong going into the last rep and expected another sub-5:08 but the humidity started to kick in. The temp was OK, probably just over 70, but with 1200 remaining my shorts were completely saturated. What a pleasant feeling THAT is. At any rate, I red lined with 300 to go and had to dip into the anaerobic well to maintain pace. But middle distance is my game (or so I keep telling myself) and I LOVE that well.