Seeing Progress

I'm not happy with the inadequate base milage I've accumulated over the past couple of months. I don't even want to discuss what my total milage was for the month of December. But realizing that it was time to put the icing on the cake whether the cake had finished baking or not, I started doing speedwork a couple of weeks ago, hoping to do four or five sessions before tapering this next week. Call it crash-speedwork. I headed over to the .7 mile path around the lake here in New Territory last night and found that I've made real progress in just two weeks and four sessions.

My plan was to do what I did last Friday - four repeats, with the .34 mile recovery, then complete the loop that goes around New Territory - about a 3 mile cool-down. I had a cup of coffee on the way home from work so I was pumped and ready.

No easy first one this time, although speedwork can surprise you sometimes, and not in a good way. You'll think you're flying only to click your split and be very disappointed. But not last night. I thought I was moving pretty good on the first one but not all out. I clicked a 4:02, which equates to a 5:46 pace. Feeling emboldened and knowing there was room for more I fired off a 3:52 on the 2nd one, my best ever. That equates to a 5:31 pace. I eased back into the slightly-less-uncomfortable zone on the 3rd and posted a 4:01 (5:44 pace). On the last one I picked things up a bit and came in at 3:56, a 5:37 pace.

Now, if I could only do true mile repeats this fast. Maybe soon.