Dedicated or Crazy?

The high temp today was right around 100 degrees in Northwest Arkansas.  This means that the temp was still hovering near 100 at 6PM for Rush Hour speed workout on the track.  I'm sure the heat on the track was actually higher! Rush Hour is a free, weekly track workout hosted by Mike Rush of Rush Running.  Below is a group picture of us before the start of tonight's workout.  Can you believe that we actually had people show up tonight for their very first Rush Hour? I was really impressed with the turnout and definitely found strength in everyone doing the workout in the heat tonight. 

Due to the heat, we altered the starting point on the track so that we could be near shade for the rest periods and also so that Mike could hook up a hose to spray people off as they circled the track.  This meant we finished coming off the curve versus ending after the straightaway.  The workout was condensed slightly due to the heat but it still included 2 1/2 miles of speed intervals.  We did 3 x 400 then 800 and did two sets.  We took short rest breaks between each interval and before the second set.  The goal was to sustain 5K pace for the entire workout and to strive towards even splits.

I'm happy to report that I was able to stay within 2 seconds on my splits.  Even better, my splits were closer to an 8:30 pace and my 5K goal pace is usually a 9:00 pace.  I'm not sure how I managed these times since my running partner Anne was late to the workout and wasn't able to run with me tonight.  I suspect I just wanted to get it done!