Grind It Out

The Boomtown Rats may not have liked Mondays but for the past 15 weeks I've liked Fridays as it's meant I've been off work and able to get a track workout in at lunchtime,on top of that this week it meant NOT having to cycle 20 miles to and from work,frankly I was too knackered on Wednesday after getting home to turn around and head out to Franklin Field for my scheduled 5x1,000m repeats.
In spite of feeling a little weary after 60 miles on the bike the past three days I walked to Franklin Field just b4 lunchtime today to "have at it" over 4x1 mile repeats,prior to my move a mile further up the road in January I'd always walked too and from Franklin Field for my repeats since late 06,a short walk was hardly going to put me off today period and frankly I was happy to be out of the saddle,don't get me wrong,I love riding my bike....just not to and from work!!

Although the sun was out it was a tad brisk when I reached the track,not only did I opt for my long sleeved dri fit shirt but I also knew the wind was going to play a role in matters,just hopefully not as big a role as it did 2 weeks ago.
Despite the wind and despite a little soreness in the upper thighs I was going for 4x1 mile repeats AND keeping my recoveries at 4 minutes after last weeks oversight.
Mile #1,1.19,1.23,1.23,1.17-5.22.66.All things considered not a bad start,ok last week I kicked off w/ a 5.11 mile but the wind wasn't a factor,nor had I had to log 60 miles on my bike.

Mile #2,1.21,1.24,1.26,1.21-5.32.66.Now didn't feel like the time to be getting picky about 1.20 plus splits it was a case of keeping my head down and keep working no matter what.

Mile #3,1.23,1.25,1.25,1.21-5.34.01.At least mile #3 hadn't ballooned on me like it did 2 weeks ago and while my splits were little to beat my chest over I took great solice for sticking to the task.

Mile#4,1.15,1.23,1.25,1.12-5.15.65.Where the !@#& did that come from???you might well ask!
Part of the credit goes to a trio of female Penn rugby players who had set off just b4 me on the inside lanes,they gave me a target to chase for which I'm very grateful.
I'm also very indebted to the one girl who asked me what I was training for,she'd watched me the past few weeks and said I'd helped raise her energy levels by watching me run.
It's the second time in two weeks a Penn athlete has cited me as an inspiration,scant praise indeed,it's good to know my efforts can inspire athletes half my age.

I somehow doubt there's any need to "go long" tomorrow I feel the old pegs could use a rest and it remains to be seen if I head out to Lower Merion High School on Sunday to meet up w/ members of GPTC for a proposed 6x600m repeat workout,we'll see.
For now I'd like to rest my wind battered body in the recliner and ready myself for the next battle whenever it is.