Today’s group run was on the east side of Nashville, and consisted of two 8-mile loops with an optional 4-mile cooldown for those that needed to get in 20. The first loop started in Shelby Park and went out Davidson toward LP Field (Titan’s Stadium), and then came back toward Shelby on Woodland. We maintained a very easy 8:50 pace for this loop.
The second loop was an out and back lolly-pop loop on the Shelby Bottoms Greenway. Most of the group picked up the pace significantly for this section. I ran with John the whole way and all of our splits were between 7:18 and 7:35 per mile. This was a very comfortable, conversational pace, and my legs felt good the entire way. I’m really glad this pace felt good, because I’m hoping to at least run in the 6:50s for the Oak Barrel Half Marathon next weekend if my legs cooperate. Another good thing about this loop was that John and I got to talk a lot about his thoughts on my training for Milwaukee this fall, and some of the important principles that I need to keep in mind throughout the schedule he is putting together for me.
When we finished the second loop, John advised me to call it a day with 16 total miles and 55 completed for the week. One interesting thing about the run today is that I never really felt overly warm during the loops, but was drenched in sweat at the finish. The temperatures were in the low 60s at the start and in the mid 70s at the finish, with full sun and elevated humidity. Hope this means that I’m getting better at dealing with warmer temperatures, because I have a feeling it is going to be a nasty summer in Tennessee.
Anyway, I have felt pretty good ever since we finished, and am really excited about my upcoming races and training over the summer. Next week we will be shooting for around 45 total miles, which will include the half marathon on Saturday.
Beast Mode…ON!