Sunday

Miles today: 7.0
Miles this week: 33.5
Miles in 2010: 280.3

I thought I wouldn't run very far today because I've been feeling like junk in my legs and the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k is less than two weeks away...but I found myself feeling pretty decent, so I went for the whole 7 miles.

Gregg and I met up with the Sunday morning group at Isabella's...and I ran the first mile with the guys. After about a mile, I usually fall back in speed.

I ended up running all the way to Riverside Park and back to Isabella's...great run.

Gifts for Gulu

Miles today: 5.34

Miles this week: 26.5

Miles in 2010: 273.3

This morning was the Gifts for Gulu "Water for Life" 5k race at Lynchburg College. Gregg and I both ran beforehand and then volunteered at the race.

I met up with Austin at the school and we ran the Sandusky Loop before the race. I was feeling pretty exhausted in my legs for some reason, so we stopped and stretched at the Perrymont/Fort Ave. intersection. Kept running out Fort Avenue to Grand Furniture, made a right on Sandusky and ran back to the College. My legs were still feeling tired, so I'm not sure what's up. Guess I just need some rest.

After the run, Austin and I got some dry clothes (it had been raining a little during our run) and went up to the track to help out with the race. I had to detour to the bathroom (of course) and then was put in charge of one of the stopwatches for the race. Austin was the clipboard recorder and Gregg was the other stopwatch timer.

Saw some cool peeps at the race: Malcolm Miller (decked out in new gear from Riverside Runners), Chad and Sandy Duff, Erin Elwell and her two beautiful children, Charlie & Emma (who both ran the Amazing mile and were A-dorable), Dwayne Fitts (2nd place), Darrell Wargo (3rd place), one of my former student's moms, Laurie Richardson, the Gellerts, James LaPrade (oops!), and some of my favorite ladies, PJ Jones, Nancy Blackwell, Sarah Bryant, and Dianne Wright.

You can see the results of the race here!

Great race, great cause. Thanks for all the donations of sports equipment and shoes to Sports Outreach.

Headed to work after the race, fit a bazillion people in new shoes, and then spent the evening vegging out with my homey, Gregg. :)

Austin's home!

Miles today: 5.0

Miles this week: 21.1

Miles in 2010: 268

Here --->
are two of my favorite running store buddies: PW and Austin

Austin's home for the rest of the week, so I was happy to wake up at 7:30 this morning and meet her at the Greek Church for an easy 5-miler. We both hate running on the paved trail at Blackwater, but my legs were tired and I didn't feel like running up either direction of Langhorne or straight across to Cranehill, so the only option was to stay flat on the trail.

It had rained all day yesterday, so we stayed away from the trails and just ran the paved path...out 2.5 and back. I am a big wuss and sometimes get nervous when I run with Austin because I know she's so much faster than me. But actually, today, I felt pretty good, all the way out and almost all the way back...and then of course, the cursed bathroom cramp hit me and I had to jog back to the Ed Page entrance with one thing on my mind...how quickly the bathroom would be near. We were also suprisingly lucky to start and finish our run after the rain finished and before it started again.

We saw Helen and her friend on the trail as we finished running, chatted really quick, and then headed out. It's always good to catch up with Austin by running because she can tell me all about school and how life is and I don't have to talk too much (especially since I'm always way more out of breath than her) and I can nod and say: uh-huh...and I don't seem like I'm too much of a wimp. It's great. It's our best catching up time when we're running. Plus she's got a lot more excitement going on in her life since she's a student at Wake Forest and living the college life. I love living vicariously through her.

Anyway, had a good run to start the day, stopped by AREVA to pick something up from Gregg, and then headed home and on to work.

Busy day all week at the store, so I've been on the floor every minute...and I can tell because my legs are a ton sorer than usual.

After work, Gregg and I ordered pizza and kicked up our feet for the evening. I love minutes spent with him. And pizza.

Gotta get up early to run and then help out at the Gifts for Gulu race in the AM.

3:00AM

Miles today: 2.0

Miles this week: 16.1

Miles in 2010: 263

I stayed up until 3AM last night for some unknown reason...doing things like trying to catch up on blogging (which isn't working very well) and laundry and such.

I guess part of the reason why I'm so behind on blogging is because I'm running a lot and more than I ever have before, which means I'm running out of time to write. Plus, of course, wedding planning is taking over, which means there's even less time to write.

All of this to say that staying up til three last night did me no bit of good today when I woke up for work, so of course, I didn't get my run in and had to do it after work.

It felt like it should be a "rest" day, so I only ran two miles up and down Rivermont after work. It's funny how a rest day for me is two miles now, and not just sitting on the couch. Love that feeling.

Easy run, dinner with my lovey, and then headed out to Target to continue the wedding registry menagerie.

Woo-hoo.

A Day Filled with Lots

Miles today: 4.2

Miles this week: 14.1

Miles in 2010: 261

This morning I woke up and had the day off from work, so I met a new running buddy, Johnna, at the Greek Church and ran 4 miles with her. That's her on the right.

Johnna's a pretty big inspiration because she lost a ton of weight in the last two years and then ran her first marathon in November and QUALIFIED FOR BOSTON! How awesome is that? I hope that with proper training, I can do the same thing someday.

We ran from the Greek Church, up Langhorne, down Rivermont, and then down Woodland to the 1-mile mark and back up Blackwater. I hadn't run Langhorne in a long time, so I definitely was feeling the hill as we headed up to Rivermont.

It was fun to run with another new buddy. I usually find out pretty quickly if I'm going to have to work hard to keep up, slow myself down to stay with the person, or feel perfect and in sync and not have to worry about timing and pace. For the most part, with Johnna, I didn't have to worry about pace or struggling to stay together, which was nice.

After the run, Johnna had to go home to her boys (she has 3 gorgeous sons) and I headed straight for the bathroom...hahaha. A good run will do that to me.

After the run, I went to Wyndhurst to visit the J. Crew store...where I found a few cute dresses for weddings this summer. (Note: It's nice to try clothes on in smaller sizes lately...I think the running has affected my body composition, because things are fitting better.) My sister and niece met up with me, we took a look at some flower girl dresses at J. Crew and a store in Boonsboro, and then ate lunch at Phila Deli. (Note: I love, LOVE, LOVE their Buffalo Chicken Wrap...it's so good!)

I had a few meetings at hotels this afternoon, so I headed out to the Holiday Inn Select downtown and then picked up Gregg and went out to the Springhill Suites by the airport. We ended up deciding on both hotels, one being very close to the airport, and one very close to Lynchburg College. Hopefully our guests will be satisfied.

I headed home to finish the much-belated Save-the-Dates that said "Merry Christmas" and were supposed to get done before December 25th...but alas, at least they got done. I made inserts with hotel information and got a cute edge puncher from Martha Stewart crafts...then Stacey came over and helped me stuff envelopes and finish the project. THANK GOODNESS IT'S DONE.

Austin came home from spring break in Ft. Lauderdale today, so me, Gregg, and Stacey headed over to the Corner Cafe to meet up with her and hang for a little. We hadn't been over there for yummy fresh-cut fries in a long time! Long day, but got a lot done!

one of the maids

Miles today: 5.0

Miles this week: 9.9

Miles in 2010: 256.8

Today after work I ran with one of my bridesmaids, Stacey, again. She is home from school (in Roanoke) for spring break. We ran from the running store, out Rivermont to Peakland Place, up and down the hills of Peakland, out to Peakland United Methodist, and then back to the store.

Stacey is a few years younger than me, graduated from JMU in '08 and is now in OT school at Jefferson in Roanoke. She's a very smart girl and will be really good at working with people who need therapy. I'm excited for her.

Stacey went to Heritage and ran track and played soccer in high school. Therefore, she is WAY more of an athlete than I am. I think her events were like 800s and the mile. That makes her really good at running short distances fast...so while we were running our 5 mile course, on the way back, just before we hit mile four, Stace suggested that we run the last mile fast.
Now, I don't consider myself much of an athlete, because I'm not really that fast or talented at running, and when she suggested running the last mile under eight minutes after already running four miles, I was like, no freaking way.

However, Stace is pretty good at pushing me, and is a great motivator, so I decided to go for it...and we ended up running the last mile at about 7:50. That made me happy, but it also make me feel like puking.

Puking is one thing I'm good at it. Ever since I've raced in 5ks, all the way back to one I did at Penn State when I was in college, I've always been a puker. It usually isn't anything big...and I've learned not to eat too much (especially orange juice, because that burns coming back out)...because I hate puking up much more than liquid at a race. It's funny though, I think I've pinpointed the puking thing as being connected to the excitement and crowd at the finish line. I think this because I've run races where the finish line was really mild and not many people were paying attention, and not puked, and I've run races just as hard, and if there are tons of people at the end and it's really exciting, I puke.

For instance, last year at the Monument Avenue 10k in Richmond, I ran with my friend Sarah. We ran Sarah's pace, which was just a bit slower than my normal race pace. I hadn't felt tired or worn out the whole race. But, the finish line at the race was unbelievable. I mean, obviously with 30,000+ finishers you'd expect that...and what did I do? I puked on the timing mats as I crossed the line. Sarah had to run away from me because she was scared she was going to puke because of me! Hahaha...

Anyway, the run this evening with Stace reminded me of puking because that last mile felt pretty darn close to throwing up. Lucky for Stace, I was fine. But just thought it must've been a good run since there weren't any crowds or excitement when we finished.

Stacey and I kind of have an interesting story. We met through an ex-boyfriend...kind of in between me dating him and her dating him...and eventually, we both stopped dating him, and through it all have become really good friends...

I mean...really, I never would've thought she'd be in my wedding. Our connection is probably a good one because we've been through similar stuff. That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger...or something like that.

Anyway, Stace is in our wedding and she's recently a brand new engagee herself. I'm pretty excited for her and her fiance, Andrew.

Double & Hill Repeats

Miles today: 2.4 in the AM + 2.5 in the PM = 4.9
Miles this week: 4.9
Miles in 2010: 251.8

This morning I "doubled"...not like a Patterson double, but just a Heather double. I ran with Stacey in Wyndhurst, but was kind of tired and knew I had hill repeats coming up tonight, so we both took it easy and only ran 2 point something miles.

After work, I met Gregg at the Lynchburg College track to do a mile warm-up before my hill workout. He had just finished an 18-miler, so he just stretched while I ran around the track. Glass' lacrosse team was practicing on the field so I had something to listen to while I ran. I swear all those people do is scream.

After my warm-up, Gregg directed me to the middle part of the entrance hill at LC...where I would start and then run up toward the stands above Shellenberger Field and run through to the top.

I told the guys at work that I'd be doing hill repeats tonight and this is what Brandon said:

Heather, your first hill will be pretty good. You'll push hard, get up the hill, be like..."this isn't so bad." Your second hill, you'll push hard and feel like you should be faster but will be slower and you'll hurt a lot more. The third hill, well, you'll feel like I'm on your back.

<----Here's Gregg, my trainer.

Just kidding.

Here's the real Gregg,
my trainer. --->

I did the first one in 56 seconds and didn't feel bad. I turned around and headed down the hill but this time started down further at the guard booth. I ran hard but felt worse. It took me 1:17. I felt my arms starting to burn like my body was going to explode. This time, at the top, I was wayyyyy out of breath. While I was running, I heard Gregg yelling, "Push, push, dig, dig. Lift your knees! All the way...push push!"

I was going to say back, "I'm trying!" but figured wasting my breath with unnecessary words at the time wouldn't be worth it.

The third hill--Brandon was right. I felt like he was on my back. I tried so hard to go faster, but my body was saying, "Nooooooooooo!" so I just tried to push through. It took me 1:20 and I started at the same place. When I was done, it took me a good minute to even catch my breath. Glad the repeats were over and all I had left was to run a mile cool-down. Ran my cool down faster than my warm-up...not on purpose, but just because it felt slow and easy.

I'm starting to feel like a real athlete. Is that possible?

an Out-of-Towner

Miles today: 5.01

Miles this week: 30.3

Miles in 2010: 246.9

This morning I met my friend Sarah's (from yesterday's baby shower) sister Emily to run from Isabella's. She lives in Richmond and was in town for the shower, and since she runs a lot, we made plans yesterday to run this morning.

Emily went to school to be a PT in Richmond at VCU, graduated last year, and now works at MCV. She was Sarah's link to the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k last year. We all ran it (me with Sarah and Emily with her friend Elizabeth) and the picture above shows me, Sarah, and Emily at packet pick-up. They gave away really cool reusable grocery bags that we loved, but they didn't have enough t-shirts when we got there and we were kind of bummed with our super size larges. This year, our plan is to email Em some copies of our IDs so she can go to packet pick-up early. Thank goodness.
 
Anyway, this year, Brian, Danny, Jeff, Tom, Gregg, and I are going out to Monument Ave...we're pretty pumped, but I'm sad that Sarah won't be there. She's due like two days after the race, so no running for her lately. Emily is running again, so maybe we'll meet up. I've been running for two and a half months solid, so I'm excited to see how it plays out in the 10k.

Emily and I ran from Isabella's, up Old Boonsboro Road to Boonsboro, to Peakland, and then down Rivermont to Riverside Drive and then turned around and came back. Our run was nice and slow...we talked the whole way and had a good time. It was really good to run with Em because she's so easy going and also is willing to talk about farting and bathroom functions. I mean...really...if you run, you have to admit that the bathroom can be a slight problem for us, right?

After the run, I grabbed some Starbucks for Gregg and I and went home to get ready for church. Gregg made yummy breakfast for me (my favorite on a Sunday!) and then we headed to Holy Cross. After church, we stopped by my sister's to say goodbye to my parents who were heading back to Pennsylvania, then met up with Stacey and Andrew to attempt a Sharp Top climb...

The 501 side of the parkway was still closed, though, so we ended up having a picnic at Otter Creek campground on the other side of the parkway and goofing around in the parking lot. Here are some highlights of the day:

Stace and me getting some airrrr!

everyone attempting a jump on self-timer...

almost success...

the L.O.V.E. photo I've been trying to get

Sarah's Baby Shower!

Miles today: 3.64

Miles this week: 25.3

Miles in 2010: 241.9

Today after work was Sarah's baby shower. Sarah and I taught 2nd grade together for two of the four years I was a teacher at Thomas Jefferson Elementary. She was there the whole time I was at TJES, but taught 3rd grade before. She was the best teaching partner anyone could ever ask for. I really miss teaching with her, but I had to leave teaching because I was pretty unhappy there.

I was pretty psyched for the shower because A: I love Sarah so much and am so excited for her and baby A. B: I love baby things and C: I couldn't wait to see everyone.

Ashley, a friend, and Emily, Sarah's sister, hosted the shower at Ashley's house. It was beautiful and fun and emotional (I think I cried twice just during the gift-opening)...

I bought Sarah some little sweet baby girl clothes and socks and towels, as well as a Bumbo seat. (see photo) Bumbos are made in South Africa and are very popular. They help your baby sit up as long as she holds her head up...so even before a baby is strong enough to sit on her own, she can sit in a Bumbo seat.

Anyway, we had a blast at the shower...including my personal favorite game, where we passed diapers with melted candy bars inside and had to guess which brown melted bar was in each. :)

Afterwards, I changed at Ashley's house and headed out for a run.

I'm going to go ahead and say now that I've become pretty accustomed to always having a bag of running clothes and my kicks with me at all times. It's kind of funny, but it also makes me feel very accomplished as a runner when I can just pull out my bag from the backseat and throw on clothes for a run. Is that strange? On top of that, I had a few errands to "run" and just happend to actually run to the places where I had to do errands. I love an "errand run."

Anyway, the Carters live at the far end of Riverside Drive near the James River, so I ran out of that area up to Rivermont, and down to the store. I had left my phone there in a hurry this morning at work, so I stopped by to pick it up.

Turned around at the store and then ran up to Rowland (across from the Cavalier) to stop by Sarah and Ryan's house to see the baby's nursery. They just finished painting her room pink, so I really wanted to see it. Everything looks gorgeous. I love baby stuff. I love all the pink ruffles and bows and squishy blankets that come with having a baby. I'm really excited for Sarah and Ryan to be parents. And I'm also excited that she'll be on maternity leave from the time she has baby A (she's due at the end of this month) until this summer.

My biggest new goal for after the baby comes: I will go to Sarah's house in the morning before work to help her out with her new little bundle so that we can spend time together like old times.

One of the hardest things about being on a different work/retail schedule is that I don't leave the store sometimes until 7:30pm. That means that most people are wrapping up and putting up their feet. I feel like I miss out on a little life and that's what's been hardest about not teaching and not seeing Sarah. I really want to make it a big goal to spend a lot of time with her in the coming months. Hopefully, it will involve taking walks with her, and maybe eventually runs (with a baby jogger, of course!).

Anyway, after stopping at Sarah's, I ran back to Ashley and Jimmy's house and headed home. I ran just over 3 miles, felt good, and enjoyed the gorgeous 50+ degree weather.

When I got home, I had a quick shower, and then Gregg and I headed out to Mi Patron (new Mexican restaurant in Boonsboro by Kroger shopping center) to meet my parents, brother-in-law, and niece. Ella loves Mexican. She calls her food there "meat and cheese" and she loves it.

We had a yummy dinner and then went to hang out with my family at my sister's house. Mom made chocolate peanut butter cupcakes for my birthday yesterday, so we had leftovers. Mmmmmm...they're topped wtih my Aunt Beth's famous Peanut Butter Icing. So so good.

Super day!

Run in the Sun

Miles today: 5.75

Miles this week: 21.7
Miles in 2010: 238.3

Today made me feel like the kids in this picture. I LOVE sunny, warm days, Vitamin D, and a good afternoon run. I love running in the afternoon better than any other time of day...way better than morning and some better than evening.

Anyway, I only had to work until 3:00 today, which was awesome because I never have afternoons off. I dressed for a run, left work, and headed over to Lynchburg College to run. I ran my Sandusky Loop from the summer with Stacey. Missed her while I was running, but at least I felt good this time.

Last time I ran this loop was in January after I fell and busted up my knee. It hurt really bad and felt like it was going to explode, so I'm glad that's over with. I ran pretty smooth, felt strong coming up Fort Avenue and even up Greenwood Drive and Thomas Road.

Speaking of busting up my knee. It's definitely a good thing that wedding dresses are long. Otherwise, I'd have a big nasty scar to cover up for this wedding. Gross.

After my run, I did some shopping and then headed home so that Gregg and I could go to my sister's for mom's spaghetti. YUMM-O!

Dinner was super delish. I kind of miss sitting at my mom's dinner table to enjoy her cooking. It was good to have her in Lynchburg.

Oh, I've been trying to do the reader question alert thing, but not that many people respond. Am I really that boring? Here's today's question:

READER QUESTION ALERT!!!

If Gregg and I have a free "Gregg and Heather 5K" the morning of our wedding, would it be neat to invite anyone to come, even if they're not invited to the wedding? Would you come, readers?

Yo, write me a comment, ok?

Interval Run

Miles today: 6.75

Miles this week: 15.95

Miles in 2010: 232.5

Today my parents came into town, partly to celebrate my belated birthday, so after work, Gregg and I both went on a run at 5:00.

Gregg met up with Brian, Danny, and Matt and I ran by myself from the Greek Church. Gregg had me do mile intervals with a mile warm-up, a fast mile, a rest mile, a fast mile, and a mile cool-down. The goal was to try to run 10 minute slow miles and 8 minute fast miles.

I started at the Greek Church, ran down the paved path through the tunnel (note: the Garmin does lose signal in the tunnel) toward downtown, and then across the bridge near Point of Honor, up to Hollins Mill and back up the hill and around to the Greek Church. My splits were 9:45/7:45/10:20/8:20/10ish. I ended up running almost 7 miles, so my last couple I just kept between a 9 and 10-minute pace. It was a really good run and I felt good even during my fast miles. It's definitely interesting feeling how my body has changed in the past two months. I feel lighter and stronger and therefore it's easier to run faster. I'm pretty psyched about what that means for this spring/summer!

After I finished up, Gregg came Usain Bolting in. He ran a fast last mile and I thought I was seeing an Olympian in person.

Afterwards, we headed to my sister's house to hang out with my parents and fam.

I love birthdays and was bummed the weekend of my actual birthday when it snowed and my parents couldn't make it to Lynchburg, so I was kind of super looking forward to their visit.

Much to my surprise, when we arrived, I had a present waiting for me...a new Chi straigtening iron! I was pretty pumped because my straightener has been on the fritz for awhile...what a super gift! Thanks mom and dad!

We ate ice cream cake leftover from my brother-in-laws birthday (yeah, I know...the sweets things didn't work so well, but I am eating less!) and hung out with my niece.

Note: My mom brought homemade spaghetti for dinner tomorrow. I can't wait!

Pre-Marital Counseling

Miles today: 3.0

Miles this week: 9.2

Miles in 2010: 225.7

Gregg and I have been meeting with our marriage whiz every other week since January to talk about getting married. We filled out individual surveys back when we got engaged and when we meet with Anne, we talk about how our surveys match up together and what areas may need to be double-checked.

I really super duper enjoy our time with Anne and the time we spend together at counseling. I think it's mostly because we get to talk about things that aren't always easy to find. I love hearing stories from Anne about her family and how she and her husband Chris have done things to raise a family that has what seems like a great relationship. I love learning new things about Gregg and hearing him explain how he works and why he is the way he is. I just can't wait to marry him.

I know, I know...you're throwing up, right?

Well, it's just that I enjoy being around Gregg so much and am exited that I get to spend the rest of my life with him. He's my very best friend and my favorite man in the whole world.

But what this really is about is the fact that after work, and after our 6:15pm meeting with Anne, as we left the spiritual life building at Lynchburg College, Gregg offered,

Wanna go for a run? I brought my stuff.

You know, it's the littlest things, but can I just say that those two sentences made my tummy do flips?

I LOVE when Gregg plans to run with me and surprises me. It's the best feeling. I know he cares. And I love it. He has probably already run a hundred miles that day, but he'll still run with me.

We ran from the track at LC, across campus to Vernon Street, left on Langhorne, right on Eldon, right on Memorial, and right on some street I don't know which eventually crossed Sussex and turned into McCausland, then a right on College, and a left back across campus to the track to finish up three miles. It was warmer out and felt easy and refreshing. Great three miles with my lover boy.

Rest and Tuxedos

Miles today: 1.1

Miles this week: 6.2

Miles in 2010: 222.7

Today after work, Gregg and I met to head down to Celebration, the bridal shop downtown, to pick out suits for the wedding. Of all things, the easiest, quickest part of planning for the wedding is stinkin picking out the suits. WHY!?

I had a long day with visions of cupcakes and guest lists and bridesmaids and flower girls and showers and registries in my head.

I'm trying to figure out if I can make a groom's cake for Gregg on my own for the wedding...just because I think it would be super cute...and if I'm talented enough to make pretty cupcakes for my own bridal shower...however, everyone tells me that it's too much of an undertaking, so we'll see. As you can see above, the cupcakes pictured are so adorable and I think would be super easy. We'll see. I think I might bake some next weekend and decide.

Anyway, that didn't leave much time today for running, so I took a rest day, especially since I ran that tempo run yesterday. I did the Mullbury Mile, as I affectionately have come to call it...and almost in record time for that loop. Felt good even though I was tired and a little sore.

Can't wait to see how my speed is affected by all of this hard work!

Tempo Run

Miles today: 5.04
Miles this week: 5.04
Miles in 2010: 221.6

Yes, readers...I'm back.

Sorry about the short furlough. I've been putting together wedding stuff for the past week...so I'm apologizing for my week and a half off...but I guarantee you'll have some good reads.

For instance, today's run...(which was actually Monday, March 1st)...was my first ever tempo run.

Gregg told me to go out on a relatively flat course today and run an easy mile, 3 fast miles, and another easy rest mile.

I've never really paced my runs like that, so I just was trying to do my best at running slow for the first and fifth miles and running fast for miles 2-4. However, my Garmin died on me, so I didn't really know where my mile splits were, and I just guessed.

My guesses were a little off, and mile 4 sucked...but here were my splits:

Mile 1 (easy): 9:01, distance: 0.98 mile

Mile 2 (tempo 1): 7:41, distance: 0.92 mile

Mile 3 (tempo 2): 10:01, distance: 1.35 miles

Mile 4 (tempo 3): 8:13, distance: 0.81 mile

Mile 5 (rest): 9:07, distance: 0.98 mile

My only major flop was from mile 3 to 4. I didn't know where the splits were, and I was also running down Peakland and back up the other side, so it was a bit hilly for a tempo run.

I definitely could feel my oxygen deprivation, and I felt like I didn't have enough in me to push through that fourth mile when I was coming up Peakland Hill toward VES Road...but I felt like I definitely pushed it.

Anyway, for a tempo run, I did pretty well and I know I'll be sore tomorrow.

My boss, Jeff, was very excited about my first tempo run. He told me to try for about an 8:10 pace on my middle three miles...and although I didn't get that exactly, I came pretty close and I was excited!

Way to go, Coach Gregg and Coach Jeff. I'm learning how to run faster!