It was definitely one of those forgettable days, no matter how many cups of coffee I poured down my throat. Got home early & was able to enjoy a nice easy run down to BPS, taking in the mistiness of the evening. The park has so many faces to it, I feel so fortunate that I am able to absorb the depth of its offering.

Maybe it is because I skipped the last speed session, but this session is sooo hard. This week we did 5-minute intervals x 50 minutes. Meaning, 5 hard 5-minute intervals with 5 minute recovery between each one. And man oh man, did it work me. Here's how it went:

#1: Feeling good like I always am during the first part of the workout, I stuck to R's shoulder with a clip that I knew was much too fast for me.

#2: Knowing I was out of my league a bit, I finished well behind the group but chalked it up to lakeside hill. As I know better than anyone hills just aren't my bag of tricks.

#3: With a chance to redeem myself I repeated over & over again underneath my breath "I can do this", but after 4 minutes I fell apart.

#4: Finally, I learned my lesson & decided to run my own way. And though I hated being so far behind, I felt strong & in control the whole time.

#5: Lucky us, we started & finished on the lakeside hill so I just pushed myself at my own pace & felt proud to have completed the workout.

Sometimes I look at how I handle certain situations & wonder if I will ever learn. But there are always so many variables to consider. Is it my talent, my confidence, my lack of experience that is letting me down OR is this just who I am. On my recovery run home, I felt truly worked & I was proud of myself for adjusting halfway through the workout. So maybe, just maybe all of this about growth, no matter how small a step it is.

Distance: 3 mile warmup, 50x5min intervals / 6 miles, 1.5 mile warmdown
State of Mind: Always, always learning