Notes
Woke up around 7 and started running around 8. I was tepid about this workout as I haven't been feeling great the last few runs (due to putting in some solid efforts and miles this week). My main concern was the left hamstring, as I didn't want to overtax it.
The plan was 6 x mile, getting towards cruisin' speed.
1) 6:00, gravel out: Plan was to ease into this one, and it certainly felt pretty easy.
2) 6:00, gravel in: The return trip appeared to be net-downhill and I figured I could drop some time easily without much more effort, I was wrong.
3) 5:45, gravel out: Put my piranha spikes on and put a little more effort into this one.
4) 5:40, gravel in: Just tried not to get lazy on this one
5) 5:20, bike path out: Started too ambitiously on this one but settled in and felt great, though losing my relaxed stride.
5) 5:17, bike path in: I didn't realize until turning around that this last one was mostly (though only slightly) uphill and this would be the 1st time I really felt the wind. Still, I didn't want to slow down so I pushed harder but still felt good by the end. Quite happy to see the fastest split.
I was very happy to get through all 6 pieces and not have to worry about my hamstring too much (and my calf seems fine now). The recovery was 3min as I was more focused on running fast and feeling good than simulating a race effort. In hindsight, I maybe should have gone faster on reps 2,3, and 4, and maybe tried to run smoother on the last 2.