Holy crap, I did speed work!!!!

On Tuesday, Paul and I went for a disc golf/running date. We have been meaning to try out Adventure Zone on Lambs Gap Road, so that's where we went! Paul said the disc golf course got good reviews and I knew there was a 1 mile paved loop around the park. It seemed like it would be perfect!

Paul wasn't a huge fan of the disc golf course but I really liked the paved path. Some of it was shaded through the woods and other parts were exposed to the sun. But it was very pretty the whole time.

My first mile was rough. I just felt reaaaally slow... like I was running uphill, except I wasn't. (Except for when I was, hahaha!) Halfway through this loop I was soooo bored. Running 6 miles was going to be really rough if I was already bored. I contemplated trying to do a little bit of speed work... My first mile was 10 minutes. 

I decided I would do the next loop a little bit faster since I was nice and warmed up. I picked up my effort a tiny bit. Being warmed up plus the extra effort I put in resulted in a 9 minute mile. 

For the next mile, I aimed to do an 8 minute pace. I picked it up and I clocked in at a 7:24! I used to be able to run a 7:24 like it was no big thang... but this WAS a big thang!

My next loop was just going to be a recovery mile. I finished it in the high 8s, which felt like a relaxed pace, now that my fast twitch muscle fibers were activated. I haven't used them in a really long time!

For mile 5 my goal was to kick it into gear and do something faster than a 7:24. I dug deep... not throw uppy deep or anything, but I made myself... uncomfortable, shall we say. I was OVERJOYED when my last mile clocked in at a 6:54! Guys, it has been a really long time since I ran a sub 7 mile.

My last loop was a cool down. I  turned my Garmin off and took some pictures.

I'm glad I tried doing some speed work on this day. It boosted my confidence. I think I may try doing it more often. Even if it's just picking up the pace for a mile or two during my normal 6 milers around my neighborhood. I have just gotten so slow this summer and I am not sure why. Even when I'm not actively doing speed work, my "happy pace" is normally in the low 8s. Not anymore.

All in all, it was a productive run, just in the fact that I did something DIFFERENT than just slog along... like I have been doing for months!

Tell me some fun speed work ideas to make my runs more fun!

Preferably nothing too high tech...