Getting the itch!

Noooo... not the itch i teach about in Health class.... I am getting the ITCH TO RACE! i can't believe where I am at right now in respect to Early December... Everything was going great with my training in December... and it was the backbone of me (literally)... holding me through and making everything tolerable (which running never was like that for me)... when it was taken away from me due to an achilles injury... i had a lot of time to think and reflect on how I deglected my running.... I would get fit and not race... or I would get fit, race once... have a great first race in the phase and get injured or sick (due to too much progression in miles/intensity at once). I feel I turned the corner in listening to my body and taking it more cautiously with my training. I know that when race time comes, I am going to be competitive and throw it all down at the competition. The first step to this is my first race of the 2010 year Virginia Beach Shamrock 8k. Last years race winner ran 23:10. It is a stud field of africans as well as several quick american runners. I raced here in 2007 and ran 25:03 (off minimal training). I came into last week thinking 25:30 was the goal... I still will be satisfied if I run under that... But I think too that i could surprise myself... we will know by 8:45am on saturday morning the result.

The workout:
2 + warm up
1600: 4:53
-400 jog
3200: 10:19 (tempo effort)
-400 jog
1600: 4:51

I began the workout with Dirk, Patrick Murphy and Jimmy Daly. Dirk is in sick freak shape so he ran the first mile with me (exchanging pacing duties at the 800 mark) but after that he lit up his own version of this workout i proposed (I believe 4:53, 9:36, 4:43... were Dirks splits..."I felt very smooth" was quoted by Mr. de Heer post-workout!).
After interval 1 was over, Patrick and I decided to run the 3200 together. We began the 3200 interval with a 75 opening quarter (my pacing has been muy horrible since my return). Charlie Ban was also present for the workout (as he was coming up with some very creative gestures of confidence to the 4 of us working out)... Patrick was quoted saying, "Charlie keeps saying the same line to us every time we run by." "yeah, this is the 3200 meter tempo from hell." i replied... Haha we were just messing around with ol' Chaz... it actually helped a lot with Charlie there and Jake joining him at the end of the workout (just like in a race when people cheer you on...) you get a sense of rejuv! Patrick and I ran 10:19 for the 3200 (5:07/5:13... as I as all over the place but still got the time we were using as a guideline).
I went into the final mile looking at another 4:55. I ended up running this solo but felt like I was even for the most part and at equal comfort as the first mile (I felt more smooth on the mile intervals than I did for the 3200 at tempo...) weird.
2.5 cool down... 10 for the day