Oh man, I had the awesomest run on Tuesday. It deserves its own post/celebration.
Okay, so I knew I wanted to do this one a little on the faster side. I have my Tri on Saturday and knew I could get in one good hard run before I’d have to take it easy leading up to the big day.
But I had no idea it’d be as fast as it was.
Perspective: My 5k PR is 23:55 and that is a 7:48 pace.
My run on Tuesday was a 5 miler at 7:50! FIVE MILER. SEVEN FIFTY.
I can’t explain it. I just started running with my friend Jackie–she’s a fast runner in our Tuesday group and I knew that going in. I knew she’d pace me for a fast run, what I wanted that day.
It was a windy evening and we chatted about that a little and then chatted the entire first mile. It was a fast mile and when I saw my watch beep 8:02, I worried I’d have a super positive split run. I really didn’t want that.
We continued chatting and then mile 2 beeped, faster than mile 1–7:54. We reached the 2.5 miler mark (where we turn around) and as soon as we started going the other direction, we felt the wind head on.
“No wonder I was flying!” I said to Jackie, laughing. I had had the wind behind me.
But I was determined to not let that be the reason why I was running so well, so I pushed on against the wind.
Mile 3–7:41
We were no longer chatting as we both knew this was a strong pace run we were doing and the wind was deterring any conversation.
Mile 4–7:50
At the one mile left mark, I knew I just had to bring it home and this would be the fastest I’d ever ran for that long of a distance.
Mile 5–7:44
I kept my composure in front of my run club but when I got home, you better believe there was some happy dancing happening in my kitchen.
It was exactly as awkward as this ^
I honestly don’t know. I’m in shock. I’d like to think that I always had it in me to run fast but I’d be lying. I never thought I’d be able to run the way I did on Tuesday. It has me cautiously hopeful I can PR on my next 5k in May. I’d be in heaven if I could sub 23–which I can’t believe I’m even saying.
But really, I just want to nail a marathon. I want to run one they way I’ve run the past couple of races. I know I have a good marathon in me; I just need to execute. A 5k PR would be awesome, but long term goal, marathon PR 🙂
–How do you celebrate good runs? Do you happy dance? Eat? Drink? or D, all of the above?
I love runs like these!!! Congrats on a really good one. I recently had a run like this and while I ran, I was just in shock. I got home and did a lot of jumping up and down and talking about 5k and 10k times to my husband who thinks I’m nuts. I also did eat a lot. Haha!
It sounds like, with all of this speed work, that you’ll get your 5k and marathon PR.
I hope so!! I’m glad you happy dance in front of your husband too!!!
Holy Helly!!! 😀
That’s one awesome run! I’d be happy dancing too if I saw those numbers. I still find it hard to string together a bunch of sub-8’s too. Sometimes I can do it for races, but in training?! Oof, that’s tough.
Now that your confidence has skyrocketted, I’m sure you can tackle that marathon PR – and I have no doubt it’ll be a HUGE one. Forget that 4:30 business – I bet you can sub-4! 🙂
That would be freaking amazing. But scary. But amazing!!!
Woohoo! You are just killing it lately, way to go!
Thank you! I get scared though…you know, when things are good and you worry that there’s no way it’ll last?? Paranoia at its finest, lol!
That’s awesome and it’s the result of some really good training! Ride the wave! You’ve got this!
Thank you so much! I really do feel like I’ve been smarter about training. Hoping to keep it up come marathon time 🙂
HELLY. DUDE. YASSSSS!!!!! OMG. Was your friend super pumped too?? OMG you rocked the crap out of that run so hard.
Happy dance alllllll the way. After my last 5K I literally jumped up and down like a two year old and did a happy dance in public. Oops.
GOOD LUCK AT YOUR TRI ON SATURDAY! Can I track you somehow?
She was super pumped too! And it’s funny because she said, “Thanks for pushing me” and I thought to myself, “I pushed *her*?? Wait, yeah I did!!!”
I love that you happy danced at your 5k. Deservingly so. You killed it. And honestly, you and Suz are big reasons why I’ve been running the way I’ve been. You both are so inspiring. ❤
Niiiiiiiiiiice!!!!
Thank you! Big ol smile over here 😀
Woohoo!!!’
😀
You are making such great use PRing all over the place with your new Garmin :D!
I wake up every morning and hope you’ve posted a new pic of it to Instagram. It’s so beautiful and every time I see a pic of it I get one step closer to convincing myself I need it! I’m currently weighing the pros and cons of buying a new DSLR camera or the fenix for vacation next month LOL! First world problems galore over here!
LOL, you are too funny! Get the watch. Seriously. You’ll use soooo much! It’s my everyday watch and I get compliments all the time 😀
Yyyeeeessss! Awesome job Helly! You have had such a breakthrough year and it will only get better!
Thank you so much! You’ve been a long time reader so you know how big a deal this is, lol!! ❤ ya!
You are so amazing and speedy! Congrats on breaking through that mental speed barrier. I know you can PR in that 5k for sure!
I hope so!
I’m loving your swimming/tri posts!!! So inspiring!
Yay!!! Good runs do deserve a post of their on! You are on fire, Helly!! 🙂 I think you need to sign up or a 5k.
I have one in May!! 😀 It’s not flat and it’s not super hilly–a little in between–but I *think* I can pull of a PR (I’d love to sub 23 though!). We shall see 🙂
Awesome run!! Good luck this weekend!
Thank you so much!
Okay so, maybe you went over this in one of your posts already but what do you owe your ever-increasing speed to? You’ve been slaying PRs all over the place. What is the one (or two) thing(s) that have drastically changed since like, a few months ago?
I did, kinda, lol! I guess really the biggest thing is mental. I’ve just tried. And not let myself think “This is too fast, slow down!” Just letting myself see what I can do.
I’ve also been cross training and working on my core a lot more than I ever did.
Oh and see my comment to Allison for my other reason.
WOW!! I wish I could put a dancing gif in this comment haha. I bet you feel just AMAZING and so strong right now. I love following your journey to faster paces because it gives me hope for myself, too. You’re seriously inspiring me these days!! What a mind-blowing run; great job!!!
Thank you so much! I do feel strong right now and very motivated, lol, but I’m trying my best to train smart and stay injury free leading up to marathon training 🙂
Awesome job!! Keep it up, girl! Have a great run this weekend!