Top Cat At The Double

''Cause it makes me that much stronger,makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser,so thanks for making me a fighter
Makes me learn a little bit faster,made my skin a bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter,so thanks for making me a fighter"
Fighter Christina Aguilera

While there was an overriding desire to build upon Wednesday's 5.06 mile I stuck to the plan of today being my first attempt at a 2x1 mile repeat.
Having seen the finishing times of yesterday's M45 1,500m final in Lahti I was left to rue yet again"what might've been"in my heart of hearts I believed I was more than capable running a 4.05. 1,500m which would've been good enough for silver,rather than sit here and play the "what if" game I chose to take my frustrations to the track this morning,there will be other World Championships God willing.
The plan was mile warm up,mile repeat,recovery,mile repeat,mile cool down w/ stretches b4 and after,I can't lose sight of the fact I'm coming off an Achilles tendon injury and I have no desire to be back on the DL any time soon thank you very much.

Conditions were great as yet again I sought to take full advantage of being able to run mid morning when I'm more rested than after a days work and the heat isn't as much a factor as it can be at 4.30pm in the afternoon.
Eased my way through the mile warm up b4 tackling my first repeat since June 16th and my first mile repeat since May 2nd.
I knew not to go "gangbusters" on the opening mile,there are several weeks and months ahead to do that,for now 1.20 per lap for a 5.20 mile would be ample.
1.18.for the opening lap,made a point of not getting up on my toes for this mile,again there's plenty of time for that in the coming weeks/months.
2.41.at 800m,a 1.23.lap in the general scheme of things I was only a second off pace but honestly even at this early stage of my comeback a 1.23.split doesn't sit well.
4.05.at the bell,a 1.24.lap perhaps I'd gone out too conservatively?again today was a little bit trial and error for me I have time to fine tune and correct things.
5.24.01. a 1.19. last lap.

If I'd ran the opening mile on the back foot and frankly I don't think I could be blamed for doing so though in some quarters I know I will be the "gloves came off" for mile #2.
1.16. for the opening lap,I was up on my toes and focusing as hard as I could,while the physical side of my game is being coaxed back I need to get the mental side on board too.
2.36.at 800m a 1.20. split,tantalizingly close to my solo mile from Wednesday.
3.58.at the bell,a 1.22.split,right now I was 4 seconds slower than where I was two days ago.
69. for the final lap,my first sub 70 since the injury,a 5.07.91.mile,not too shabby if I say so myself.
While the Achilles had stood upto the test,my calves were understandably feeling it and frankly most race walkers would have left me in their wake on my mile cool down but to have posted a 5.07.91. as the second of my two 1 mile repeats in only my second week back training is for me at least something to be very proud of.

Hopefully tomorrow or even Sunday if needed I'll get out on the bike,my late afternoon pt session make it hard to get over to the Art Museum Loop by the time I get home,I'm looking at my final week of therapy this coming week.
Week three of my return to training will see more of the same,would be nice to get a sub 5 under my belt if possible,let's see what Monday brings shall we?