Today I headed out for the standard Monday morning three mile run.  I planned on going out with a 9:30 first mile, attempting to average 8:45 per mile.  After finding it easy to take the first few miles slowly on Saturday, I had some trouble this morning.  I found myself hitting 7:00 minute mile pace a few times and I was constantly reminding myself to slow down.  I finished one mile and arrived at the lakefront park in 9:15.  That was 15 seconds faster than I wanted to do it, but not too bad.

That’s when I kicked it up a notch.  I zipped around the lake and passed the 2 mile mark in 17:15 - an 8 minute mile.  Better yet, I wasn’t feeling winded at all.  I cruised through the last mile in 8:15.  It would have been faster, but I had to wait for traffic to pass.  If it sounds like I’m bragging, I am.  I know it’s not all that fast in the grand scheme of things, but it sure felt good.

Planned workout

8 minutes warmup

3 miles at 8:45 pace

8 minutes cool down

Actual workout

8 minutes warmup

3 miles at 8:30 pace

8 minutes cool down