Vacation Time

This time tomorrow I will have just landed in Seattle.

And.

I.

Can't.

Wait.

I need this trip.

I will be running on these roads

Don't worry. They aren't all hills.

And waking up to this

And most importantly, relaxing and spending time with family I don't get to see often enough.

I'm Coming Slow But Speeding

Today was the last day of Summer Speed Sessions. It's been a 10 week program geared towards increasing speed for a specific distances. The summer speed session was focused on shorter distances like the mile and 5k. Since this was the first time I have ever participated in this kind of work out it took some time getting the feel for it. From trying to hit my times, to making sure my watch was working, it was a little bit of a learning experience. Actually it was a huge learning experience. The past 7+ months have been huge. I have learned so much about running from some very knowledgeable and accomplished runners and I am pretty darn lucky they are supportive of not only me, but anyone who has expressed an interest in running.

Running has never been one of my favorite things to do. Ever. I hated mile day in gym class and for the Presidential Fitness awards. (Do they even do that anymore? If they do, I am pretty sure the majority of the US youth would fail...)

So 2 years ago I started taking a boot camp class at the Y. The very first day we had to run a mile. My time? 9:06. I was THRILLED with this time. In middle school my best mile might have been in the 10 minute range and I think that may have only happened once. A year ago I ran my first 5k. And today? I ran my fastest mile ever. 7:19. I know for some this is pretty slow, but for me it's amazing. I started speed with a 7:45 mile and improved by 26 seconds.

There is going to be an informal speed session as part of my half marathon training and I might even be a tiny bit excited about it.

The Good Runs the Bad Away

Saturday was just what I needed.

The 5k was hard. It was hot. But I finished. Not only did I finish, but I had a PR on a pretty hilly course. 25:59. I was trying not to get my hopes up this week as far as improving my time from last year, but deep down I really wanted to. On Wednesday night we ran the course and I knew it was going to be difficult on Saturday. I felt like I had run pretty hard and didn't even finish a full 3.1 miles and my time was slower than last year. So my hopes of improving from last year seemed pretty far off.

However, I am slowly learning that I run better in the morning than after a day of work. I also tend to doubt myself. What a great way to kick off my training schedule for the St. Jude Half in Memphis on December 4!

ENFL! (East Nasty For Life!)