6x1500m

Today's workout was a tough one: 6x1500m with 2 min rest. Pacing would be critical so that I wouldn't die at the end, and since I've been getting faster, it's tricky to figure it out. Jim suggested 8:15/1500m, which would be 3x2:45. That was about what I was thinking, and it turned out to work quite well.

I was still a bit sore in the hamstrings and glutes this morning, but it wasn't too bad. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, which really helped me get my game face on for the workout. It was about 53F (11.7C) with a slight breeze and partly sunny. I warmed up for 1600m with strides in 9:30ish, and was feeling good. The dynamic stretching helped my hamstrings and glutes loosen up and I felt ready to go.

I tried to take it pretty conservatively for the first two intervals, and I think that was mostly successful. Intervals 3 and 4 were a bit harder, and the last two were quite hard. It felt just about right; I had a bit of room to spare until the last two, when I had to really push to get the times. But I stayed very consistent and felt on top of this workout. Whew. I think I was worried about how it would go, with the sore muscles, but it was all right. Definitely very hard work at the end, but I wasn't totally dying and felt within my capabilities. I'm happy with the way I paced it.

Here are my times: 8:11.2, 8:14.7, 8:14.9, 8:15.1, 8:12.6, 8:14.6. Wow. Very consistent. My heart rate ranged from an average of 149 for the first interval to 162 for the last interval. Perfect. Average pace was 5:29/km for the workout. Edited to add: that's 8:50/mile. Sweet!

Garmin data here.