2.60 miles

Yes it is a pretty random number for the miles I ran this morning. I did not have time for a long run because of Saturday plans but I did have time for speed work. I truly hate speed work because I know I am going to have to push myself beyond what I think my limits are. If I run with my friend Heidi and we are both working on speed, I do great. She pushes me because she is faster. I count it all joy to be able to run beside here!

But I can't have Heidi for all of my runs so I was alone and decided to kick some butt! I kicked my own butt! I thought it would be cool to run in the 8's for a while and see how long I could last. WOW! It was hard! It was already about 93 degrees and humid as all get out so I wasn't sure if I could handle it. The first mile I did in 8:20! I was so proud! Then I made it to 2.60 miles and quit. I tried to make it to 3 but I saw my house and knew I had an hour to get ready for a lunch at friend's house and talked myself into stopping. My final average pace was 8:40.

Obviously this is not my marathon pace but it makes running my normal average pace of about 9:20-9:40 feel like a breeze! AND that is why speed work is so great! Makes you strong! I could care less if I ever run an 8 minute mile. But I love knowing that time (2 years) of long distance running has proven to me that speed is a natural progression. The longer you run, the faster you get. It just happens.

I'm glad I am journaling all of this because I love to go back and read how much I have grown as a runner!

I just can't get enough of running! And of course after my run, I ran in the door to show Jeremy the Garmin, hooked it up to the computer to get my average pace and called Heidi to celebrate!