Notes
Workout: 5E + 6M + 1T + 5M + 1E (M = 6:09/mi, T = 5:50/mi).
Day 1!
Got up early to get to the canal trail to maximize shade and stay out of the heat. Decided to do the first 9 miles down from Cheshire towards New Haven and then turn around at the 9 mile mark. The first five miles were very easy; easy pace, still cool, shady, and flat as a pancake, if not slightly downhill. I was a bit anxious because I wasn't super confident that I'd be able to handle the workout.
The first 6 at M pace went fairly well, even as I ran into some hills in the last mile before the turn-around. There were a couple miles that were a bit faster than I would have liked, especially the 5:58 but I was feeling very good at the beginning and it was hard to be disciplined and ease back ever so slightly to the correct pace.
Dropping 8 seconds on the T mile was a complete mental mistake. I had been keeping track of the splits that I needed to hit pretty accurately but I screwed up the addition and thought I was actually going to be finishing 10 seconds faster. 37 isn't exactly the mostly friendly split for 1/10 mile but I don't take this as a big negative; I could have run 5:50.
The last 5 at M pace were starting to get more difficult and I wasn't entirely sure the whole time that I was going to make it. The major muscle groups in my legs weren't really feeling all that tired as individual units, but my whole system was starting to get strained, especially as the mercury continued to climb. I just kept re-evaluating at each mile but found that I wasn't really deteriorating so I just kept going. As soon as I slowed for the final, easy mile I felt almost as if the fatigue had finally caught up to me. At that point, however, the workout was essentially over so I didn't really mind.
Happy with this workout and it gives me confidence as the first day of marathon training!