bad mood = speed

Last night I was in a very bad mood before I went out on my run. Not for any real reason, just because I'm a girl and sometimes I'm moody. I decided that I would use my irritation and frustration in my run and see if that would help me increase my pace as well as calm me down. It worked! I had the best run that I've had in a while. I did 4 miles and my pace was about 10:30. I think I've just gotten a little too complacent while running and I haven't been pushing myself to improve. I've been putting in the miles, but not working up to what I am actually capable of. Because even though I cut 30 seconds off my pace, it wasn't that hard and I still did it comfortably. I was even able to sprint the last 100 yards, which is always my goal. It was a good lesson to learn last night.

I also learned that running harder improves your mood. I'm not sure if it is the endorphins or if it's just that you're too tired to be bitchy. Either way, it's a good thing.

well, crap

I found out that some people are actually reading my blog, so I *might* start making an effort to update it in a timely fashion ;-)

So where did I last leave off? Oh yes, I had run two 3.5 mile runs and one 5 mile run. Well just go back and read that entry because that's pretty much the same point that I am at now. I have decided that I am no longer running on Sunday nights because, well, at that time of night on Sunday I'm already drinking. Just kidding. Um, sort of. Seriously, I'm just not feeling the Sunday night runs. I usually spend all weekend running around, doing transports, taking care of my dogs and horses, cleaning the house, etc. By the time Sunday night rolls around, I am tired y'all!

For right now it is working out much better to do my long runs on Monday nights and then following up with my shorter runs on Wednesdays and Fridays usually. This week I'm planning on increasing my short runs to 4 miles each and my long run to 6 miles. I'm feeling good about being able to complete the distances, but I'm still feeling crappy about my pace. I was ready to quit last week when I continued to get slower with each run. I'm going to stick with it though and just hope that my slow pace is a result of a) increasing my distances, b) the heat & humidity, or c) my nike+ipod being a bastard.