Fast Five

Movie Review??  Please, I have two little kids!  I don't get to go to the movies!  The Fast Five I'm talking about was my morning run at the gym.  Although I didn't break any box office records, I did break my 5 mile record (do PRs on treadmills count??).  5 miles in 43 minutes and 10 seconds (8:37 miles).  I am practically a cheetah.  =) I know this is not incredibly fast for "real runners" but for this slow poke it is lightening speed.  And the only person I ever race against is myself (my odds of winning are much better that way!).

What do I have to thank for this increase in speed?  My half marathon training!  I know lately I have been complaining about it.  Statements like, "why am I doing this" "I wanna die" "I hate running now" "I can't wait for triathlon training to start" "wah wah wah" have been know to slip out of my mouth.  I'll be the first to admit that I have been a bit of a Negative Nelly.  I really wanted to love this but I am not sure that I do.  But I will tell you what I do love.  I love that this training has improved my running by leaps and bounds.  Before I started half marathon training I was running 10 minute miles (if I was lucky) and feeling pretty good about it.  I don't know if it was the dreaded sprint intervals ( see my former post on Sprint Intervals), the long runs, the hill work, or the fact that I am just constantly running, but I have shaved 7 minutes off my five mile runs!

I know that in the grand scheme of life running faster is not that important.  But I am a stay at home mom and having these goals and challenging myself helps me keep my sanity, and keeping my sanity is important in the grand scheme of things.  So is improving my overall health and finally (almost) losing the 80 pounds I packed on during my pregnancies.

I might not have enjoyed all the hard work but I do enjoy the results.  Watch out 8 minute miles. . .I'm coming for you!