Speedy!

I think the cold is making me faster! Woke up tired and not really wanting to run, but convinced myself to roll out the bed and put on running clothes. I find that if I put on clothes as soon as I wake up, before walking out of the room, the chance that I actually get out the door drastically improves. Plus, it's Friday!

Finally found my running tights, which was a good thing because it was cold cold cold today. I can't wait to see what this winter brings! I've always shied away from exercise in the cold, but I'm determined to keep going.

I ran the small loop around Central Park and then came back to my apartment, in what is probably the fastest run I've had in a year. I've never been a particularly fast runner, but I've definitely slowed down over the past few years. When I moved to NY in 2009, I took a running class to meet people and improve my speed. I didn't really meet anyone because holy moly those runs were tough! But effective- I whittled my way down to 7:45/min miles, which for me is the speed of lightning. And then I hurt myself, and didn't really run for a while.

I foolishly thought this year (3 years later!) that when I started training for a half-marathon in March that it would just 'come back.' I didn't stick to a training plan, and didn't really put in enough time. I ended up getting sick at the finish line of the race, and felt like hell running. I was also running closer to 9:30/min miles. I upped the training a bit, and ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon in May, and improved my time slightly to around 9:20/min mile.

But then I started training for the marathon, and I couldn't run anything faster than a 10:00/min mile. Talk about frustration- I was running more than ever but I was getting slower and slower. It really took a toll on me mentally, and it took me a long time to accept that the time didn't really matter, it was just putting the miles in. I'll probably never run 7:45s again, but with hard work and consistency, maybe when I do run a marathon (please Philly please!), it will be closer to 9 minutes than 10.

Run Stats: Out the door at 7:40, Central Park, 47:38, 5.36 miles. Either something is wrong with my watch, or I was speedy speedy today! That's a pace of 8:58!!!!