Notes
Not sure what to make of this workout. Did a brisk warmup of close to 3 miles as I wasn't planning on doing much of a cooldown. Legs felt a little heavy at first but not too bad. Grabbed some water after 4K and started the M Pace work soon after. I wanted to start off relaxed and reassess at the midway point. First couple of kms had some tailwind so I was feeling pretty good but at the same time pace was not dropping naturally. In 3rd km with a strong headwind in TT I pulled something in mid back on left side. Seriously considered stopping but instead decided to push through and turn around at 3K in case I couldn't go any longer. Back pain dissipated a bit but was still there for most of the run and is super tight after. I was able to drop the pace with tailwind in 4th km and continued back to Cherry Beach without pushing too hard.
By 6K I had just entered tempo breathing so felt like I could continue on so I turned back around to do the same out and back. The 9th km into the headwind was again really tough and took a lot out of me. Last 3kms I gave it everything to stay in tempo mode while maintaining pace. Had a bit left in the 500m so that was good. Cadence had increased quite a bit so I was losing power in the 2nd half. I'm worried this is my left knee causing this as it gets really tight during these longer hard runs and prevents me from generating power - feel like I'm dragging my left leg just to keep pace.
Toughest kms were 3, 6, 9, and 12 due to the headwind. Sun stayed hidden for most the run so I didn't get too hot. Dew point was pretty low too around 11. Still not sure where to go from here as I feel like I'm not gaining fitness despite the workouts and increased miles due to my knee.
Overall pace 4:14.6
First 6K - 4:15.5
Last 6K - 4:13.7