The original plan for today was for another steady state session, but I felt like something with a bit more bite to it.  So, I decided to give this month’s Cross Team Challenge a try.

Here is the description…

To say I had low expectations is an understatement.  Back in January, when I was in good form, I was able to crank out a 5K with a 1:46.4 pace.  From what I had read, this challenge was doable at faster than 5K pace.  But there are a number of mitigating factors that would cause me to set my sights considerably lower.

1. My training has been intermittent and erratic since the end of January.  I’m accumulating meters at less than half the December/January rate in February, March and April.
2. I have had 2 multiple day layoffs due to travel in the past three weeks.
3. I am now working on slides, which kill me for middle distance pieces for some reason.

With all of that, I decided that I would be happy with a 1:50 pace.  It turned out to be a pretty accurate guess and a big ask in the final rep.

I started with a fletcher warmup.

Then into the main event.

Then a 2K cool down

So, 5468m puts me in Free Spirits Boat #1 for the moment.  I should really be at least a couple seconds faster than this on pace, but I’m glad to at least have posted a score.

Tomorrow: 3 x 20′ steady state