Eggers Burns

Distance: 8.9 mi.
Time: 1:08:40.

Warmup: 2.2 mi.
Workout: 5*600 meters w 2-min rest + 2*1600 meters w 400-m jog rest.
Cooldown: 1.7 mi.

I had hoped to join the Charlotte Runners at the Philosopher's Stone run tonight, for a tempo, but of course they were doing some sort of themed run for Valentine's Day. Avoid. Eggers came to my rescue with a call for 600-meter repeats at the Marion Diehl track. Eureka!

I was feeling a good bit under the weather and would be working with depleted glycogen stores on this one. Dreaming of doughnuts, I chased Eggers around the asphalt oval, 600 meters at a time. He was really burning and I was content to sit back a bit. He encouraged me to fight through breathing and energy woes, but I bolted for a water fountain as soon as I had finished my fifth.

Splits (rest): 2:06 (.11 mi. in 0:57.4); 2:05.7 (.21 in 2:00); 2:08.2 (.15 in 2:00); 2:03.4 (.14 in 2:00); 2:01.85 (.16 in 2:00).

That third one is worrisome as it represents an ongoing issue with me - losing focus in the middle of a race or workout. After some water for my parched lips, I went back to the line for two versions of the metric mile, 1600 meters.

5:44.1 (400m in 2:42); 5:35.2 (.11 mi. in 1:32).

Positive feelings abounded after a strong close. It was great to have Eggers out there for pacing and encouragement, even though we did different workouts. We cooled down back to his house and called it a day, with plans for more track work in the near future. It was nice to get the legs moving with something other than a tempo run.

Track Time with Eggers

Warmup: 1.6 mi in 14:46 - 9:15 ppm
Workout: 3 x 400-300-200 meters with 60 seconds between reps and 90 seconds between sets.
Cooldown: 1.36 mi in 11:42 - 8:34 ppm
Goal:  Short workout to re-gain some foot speed and turnover after a two-week break.

I really love my new shoes. They almost feel like racing flats, but they're just a little heavier. I hope they hold up and that they don't prove to be too light. I awoke at 5:30 a.m. this morning and drove over to Daniel Eggers' house to meet him for a workout. We headed over to Marion Diehl Park on Tyvola, right across the street from his neighborhood.

Eggers tried to get us both killed by leading the way through a dark, twisting, rooted trail in the woods across from his neighborhood. Luckily, we survived the warmup and made it to the park. This was my first experience at Marion Diehl. There is a decent-sized facility at the front, a field or two, and an asphalt track enclosing a soccer field and some bleachers.

We wanted to run a few 400s, 300s, and 200s at faster than race pace, and we accomplished that goal. My breathing was very heavy at the start but by the third set I felt fantastic. Eggers led the way for awhile and then I took over at the end, spurred on by knowing he was right there to push me. This is the first time I've done a workout with another person since....the mile repeats at McMullen with Brinkley? It really makes a huge difference.

I used Running Buddy to keep an eye on my mile pace but I didn't set it up for a workout. Here are our splits, via Eggers: 1:21, 1:01, 0:37; 1:16, 1:01, 0:36; 1:19, 1:02, 0:32. Not including rest, our accrued average pace was 5:04 per mile. Eggers had to get to work and I debated doing more, but was unusually dehydrated so we cooled down back to his house and called it a day. If I don't race this week I'm definitely doing a second workout, so I'm satisfied with the day's work.