SETTING SOME RECORDS

I'm excited about some running milestones in our family and want to share them with everyone.

Devon and I recently changed from three three mile runs per week to one "push it" run of two miles at our top speed, one regular paced three mile run, and one four mile run with whatever short breaks or reduced speeds we need to get through the last mile. Our first four mile run should have been last weekend, but Saturday was full and I made an unusual, but wise, decision to nap on Sunday. That meant yesterday was our first time ever running more than three miles. Not only did we run the whole thing without a walking break, which is a big accomplishment for us, but we came within seconds of our best three mile pace at 9:38. I can't believe it!

Naomi and I also made some recent changes to our running schedule. We used to do three three mile runs, though they're at a slower pace than the runs with Devon. Now we're doing two three mile runs at her regular pace and one "push it" run of two miles at her top speed. Her first "push it" wasn't timed because the stopwatch didn't get turned back on after a long wait at a stoplight, so Friday was her first timed one. Her regular three mile pace is 13:13, but she ran two miles at an11:43 pace. That means she shaved about a minute and a half off her regular pace when she scrapped distance for speed. So awesome!

I set a PR for my own "push it" on Tuesday with a 9:02 pace for two miles.

You guys, the three of us are the least athletic Ws and none of us are characterized by our decision to persevere in optional things that we don't particularly love and/or excel at. Our numbers may not be super impressive in the fitness world, but the fact that Devon and I have been running since mid-May and Naomi since the beginning of September, that we're running in all sorts of weather, and that our distances and speeds are slowly increasing is pretty amazing. I'm proud of the progress we're all making and am thankful that Devon and Naomi, who I'm pretty sure don't care enough about running to keep it up if I told them they could quit, go with me three times a week each without complaint.