Notes
15 minute warm-up, then
6 cycles of 2 min fast (around 6:30-6:40 pace), 1 min easy (10:00 to 11:00 pace),
then jog easy for rest of 6 mile route (about 2 miles).
HR peaks for the six cycles: 154, 156, 151, 160, 167, 152. I ran hard UP the hill on the return route, which is where the 167 came in. Cycle #6 was at a significantly lower effort than the first 5 cycles. HR stayed in the 130-140 range during the last 2 mile cool-down phase, pretty much where it should be.
UPDATE (8/23/12):
Looking back, I would attribute my Right Achilles tendon issue to a trifecta of events that happened in succession. (1) I "tweaked" the achilles on a run at work -- going up a very steep incline a bit too fast, and my right heel went into a hole of sorts, really overstretching the tendon; (2) 2 days later, I ran my 6.2 mile "race" pace run at 6:48 pace, which is the most intense, sustained workout since my lactate threshold test back in May; (3) 2 days after the "race," I did the above-described interval workout where I distinctly recall pain in the achilles while running hard UP the hill next to Spring Green golf course. I honestly feel that this "injury" may not have fully manifested itself if there had been a lighter schedule of workouts. The "race" and "interval" days were the 2 most intense workouts in the last 10 weeks, and they fell 2 and 4 days after the initial event. [I offer this excuse/explanation as a defense to the "barefoot" shoes being the cause of all this -- noting that I wore the VFF's on 2 of the 3 trigger events (not for the "race").]