speed work-or- i run like a six year old

jason got home late again tonight but i felt like i needed to squeeze in a run or be overwhelmed by guilt for missing mondays 4 miles.

i left at a pace that felt a bit quick for me, but i decided to keep it up anyways. a couple times i felt my speed slipping, but picked it up again and on the downhill stretch of my mile i really had to remember to keep it up. i ran in strong to the house and checked my time: 8:54! the fastest i have ever run a mile (that i can remember tonight) is around a 10 minute mile. and definitely not under 10. i took a walk break to the quarter mile loop in our neighborhood to continue the speed work and sprint a quarter.

now, when i try to run fast, i feel ridiculous. i think i look like a 6 year old, arms bent at 45 degree angles and held tight to my chest with legs just flailing.

i did .25 mile in 1:44. excellent. i walked a little ways and ran again, this time at a slightly slower pace in an attempt to feel less dumb. (i noticed that if i run REALLY fast, my form is better and i feel less silly. or, if i run slower i feel less silly. its that in the middle fast pace that brings out the 6 year old.) i sprinted in the last straight of my .25 mile for 1:54. still a GREAT quarter time. and now i have something to check back to if i ever decide to do speed work again.

i finished up 2.5 miles total with a total time of 25:15, and i feel much better about my lack of running. i might even try to get up on time in the morning and get in some cross training.