150m Hill Repeats: Nailed it!

Last night I laid out my plan for this mornings workout.  I repeated the intervals in my head while I was in bed, and fell asleep with that visualization.  I had another night of dreams, which have really been interesting.  My brain is trying to work through a bunch of stuff, and each night's dreams seem to get more interesting.  Last night I dreamed that I was talking to Kareem Abdul Jabbar about John Wooden.  Now, I've always respected John Wooden as one of the ultimate leaders.  This is what I aspire to, so maybe that was what was in my head.  Anyway, it was interesting to wake up to that realization.

I had planned to start my workouts at 7:20 pace (or the equivalent of 5:15 pace on flat ground), which is what I'd done the other day, and what I did this morning.  Today, I carefully monitored my effort and pace, which I gradually increased throughout  ten (yes, count them, ten) intervals.  My final paces were right at 7:00 pace (or the equivalent of 4:50-4:55 pace).  In the middle, my paces were right in between (about 7:10 or the equivalent of 5:00-5:05 pace on flat ground).

My efforts were just right.  I increased my breathing gradually as I made my way up the hill, focused on maintaining my pace while increasing my effort in a reasonable fashion.  This being different from  the other day, when I increased my pace significantly on the 3rd and 4th interval.  Today, I went from 7:20 pace to 7:10 pace to 7:00 pace.  My breathing was hard when I got to the top of the hill, but by the time I got back down the hill to the start I had control of my breathing.  I might have pushed a little harder on the tenth interval, knowing it was my last, but my breathing had still settled down within a few minutes.

The "rest" interval, walking from the top of the hill down to the start, averaged about 1:50.  The intervals themselves were right about 40 seconds long.  I finished my workout feeling good. For most of the day, I felt energized.  When it comes to today's workout, I nailed it!