On Friday, I had my final workout, which was actually a repeat of the workout I did the week before. Marilyn didn't have a workout as hers was on Thursday, so I got up early and headed out to the Bader Road area which is at 7300ft. I was VERY happy to see that it was a cloudy morning, which was a big change from the earlier week where we arrived about an hour 15 later and it was sunny and hot.
The sky when I arrived
I headed off into the trails to do my warm up and found them slightly muddier due to the thunder/rain storm we had the night before. The mud here is very different from back home, it actually cakes itself to the bottom of your shoe and you can easily add a few extra pounds to your stride. I didn't worry though as I knew it would come off when I hit the road.
Mmm Mud (and a fly on my ankle)
I finished up my warm up and headed to the loop I had planned. It's actually a measured mile with markers. Well if you go fully around, it is probably 1.1 mile. I am sure McMillan Elite had marked it or something. Speaking of them, just as I finished my drills, some of the team drove up. Turns out they were doing some filming out there (no I didn't get caught in any scenes). A few members were there the previous week doing some tests shots, but this was the real deal.
I headed off on my 10km paced workout, which felt MUCH better than last week. Last week I had to extend the rests from what coach Matt had wanted. So while I hit the paces, unfortunately it was with longer than the 90" rest. This time, I felt much more acclimatized, not to mention it was a good 8 degrees cooler I am sure. Needless to say, I rocked the workout sticking to the 90" rest and this time I wasn't gasping for air!
I jogged back up the road and chatted with some of the McMillan crew and then headed back to pick up my bottle before heading to my car. A quick chat with Stephanie Rothstein (2:29 marathoner) while I jogged to the car and then we arrived a run for tomorrow. She carried on into the trails while I put my stuff in the car and then headed off into the trails behind her.
I took a few photos stopping and starting many times and just simply enjoyed my surroundings. It was also nice to see Amy Van Alstine out on the trails as Mar and I ran with her on Wednesday. I was sucking wind that day feeling the effects of my Tempo Tuesday, but it was certainly nice to run with a 15:42 5000m runner!
Various trail shots
Neat patterns on the trees
Up next.... what I had planned for this post... Walnut Canyon Adventures!
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