Notes
The weather says the wind was 7 mph, but it felt more like 10-11 to me. Maybe it was the cold...
First LT run of the season. Up until the end of the warmup, I wasn't sure if I was going to do a 6-mile HR-based tempo run, or 2 x 3M @ LT, or 3 x 2M @ LT.
I opted for 3 x 2M, shooting for 6:35 pace.
The first one felt like hell. I didn't think I'd be able to do another repeat, much less two. That second mile uphill and into the wind...ugh. I decided I might just do a second repeat at 6:45-6:40 pace and call it a day.
However, the second repeat felt weirdly easy for more than a mile. I felt like I was running at 8:00 pace and I kept checking my watch to make sure there wasn't something weird going on. It felt like a brisk jog. I came through the first mile only a second slower than the previous set, but it felt a lot easier. I had to push harder on the uphill, but overall it still felt much easier.
Since I hadn't planned on a 3rd repeat, I hadn't really been dreading it, and after an easy 2nd repeat, I went for it. It wasn't as easy as the 2nd, but still easier than the first. I shot for 6:45-6:40 on this one and pretty much hit it, although I had to work hard for it at the end.