I still got something in the tank

I won't say that I've been training for anything or even running a lot.  But I've been trying to do kinda-sorta speed work or at least run fast when I can.  The good news is that I still have a little something left in the tank.

Last week I was short on the time so I went out for a fast 3 miler with the goal of sub-8 min miles.  I managed it in 23:22.  That last mile hurt, but I knew I only had a mile left.  Since the next race I'm signed up for is a 5k, I wanted a pre-training benchmark.  7:47 min averages made me feel pretty good.

I'm trying to work back up to 10 mile long runs on the weekend as well.  Except I'm trying to work up to 10 miles at an 8:30 pace like Kelly and I were running 2 years ago before my last 1/2 marathon PR.  This Sunday I did 9 miles and my goal was sub-9 min.  It was a perfect day, so I managed 8:35 average pace.  It was actually a little slower than that because at 7 miles, I picked up the pace and ran a mile in 7:54 before my cool-down.

Man, was I excited that I can still run at a respectable pace.  I start a 5k training plan next week so I'm trying to get back into a training mindset.  Speed work, spinning, etc.  Even better, I felt great today.  My hamstrings are tight, but I'm not sore and I didn't feel fatigued after the run.  Maybe I'm finally getting back to normal.