I Am Not a Jogger! Anymore.

Photo by Elizabeth Taylor Frandsen

This morning I went straight from dropping the kids off at school to the gym so there would be no backing down. Elle really didn't want to go at first, but in the end she had a good time, like always. I ran on the track and did sets of 800s, aiming for under 4:00.

I did a nice 9:30 warm-up mile. I kind of felt like I wanted to run faster, but I kept reminding myself that I was just warming up and tried to reign it in a little. Then I started my 800s. Here are my times:

1. 3:56
2. 3:45
3. 4:06
4. 3:55
5. 3:57

Looks like I'm getting pretty consistent. All but one of them under 4:00, which was my goal! I think doing #2 so fast is what cut down on my speed for #3 so I need to be careful with that. I just get listening to Foo Fighters and get a little crazy!

I might need to start shooting for 3:50 instead of 4:00.

In between each set I ran slow for 2-3 laps, and even walked a little bit. At the end, I did another cool-down/recovery mile in about 10:30.

I'd like to get where my recovery pace is 10-minute mile, but I guess I can't expect that right away. I mean, that has been my normal pace, race pace even, for a long time!

It was a hard workout, and I felt good about it. The best thing about today, though, was that it was fun! I sometimes forget how fun running can really be! I kept thinking about the Pearl Izumi "we are not joggers" ad campaign. Here's a quote from my favorite one:

"Take a look at any school playground. See anyone jogging?"

We sometimes forget that running is supposed to be fun! Check out the rest of the ads here.