Workout

 I wanted to get some turnover this week and came up with the plan to hit a couple of Strava segments that Dan, Doug, and I had run last week.  It would be an interesting mix of fairly fast running and some technical as all of it would be on trail in the AVIS trails near Dan's work.  The plan was to complete the 7.2 mile loop with 2.6 warm-up, into .81 hard (Meadow loop segment), we then get 1.6 mile easy before entering the 1.17 mile hard (Fosters Island segment), after that we'd have a 1.6 mile warm-down.

The goal (other than getting about 2 miles of hard running) was to take down the segment records.  We had a decent day with temps in the low 50s and a bit of a wind but nothing terrible.  The warm-up went well with much nervous chatter and trash talk.  We weren't 100% sure of the exact start/stop point of the segment so I had us start and finish on the bridge at the edge of the meadow.  Doug shot off and I went after him feeling reasonably good for the first 200 meters, Dan had hung back a little at the start and went flying by about 300 meters in.  Doug went with him as they dropped me.  It was kind of funny as they spooked a couple of hikers who then proceeded to give me a "pity clap" as I went by.  They really gapped me by the turn but I started closing the gap after 1/2 mile.  They had some good back and forth with Doug reaching the finish first.  There was much discussion over the rest part if Dan had actually scored the win on time (he did) and if we'd broken the record (we all did).  I felt pretty good now and was looking forward to the longer more technical segment.  

Dan took the lead as he was familiar with the loop (Doug and I had only done it once before).  He was very cautious over the first 300 meters of tricky footing and tight turns.  We hit "Boy Scout Hill" and I made a move and caught Dan halfway up.  I pushed on the downhill (not Dan's strength) and could hear him fall back a bit.  I had to ask which way to go at one intersection and thankfully Dan yelled "right".  I pulled further ahead then after 1/2 mile or so I heard footsteps closing on me and thought it was Doug (it wasn't) and even moved over to left him pass (he didn't).  I was happy Dan hadn't passed as I really pushed on the last 300 meters of technical and dropped him again.  Doug did not enjoy this segment and talked a bit about puking while we closed out the day with and easy run up to Dan's work.  All in all it was a solid workout.