mii - running fast

One of the things I've always known that I need to work on is running faster for an extended period of time-getting out of my comfort zone. Which brings me to my birthday gift from my ultimate fans and support crew otherwise known as my parents. They got me what a lot of other people have been telling me is awesome, the Garmin 310xt. I've always been a minimalist when it comes to gadgets just because I sort of get lost in my surroundings and don't really pay much attention to my heart rate, mileage, nutritional intake, etc. Perhaps that is what got to me in California? So, in an effort to up the stakes I received the Garmin. I like to run random routes so it did seem rather nice to see how far certain runs take me and how fast I'm going. This baby, gives me pace as well as, mileage among a plethora of other things that I'm still discovering. Last night I decided to give it a whirl and try and run faster on my normal neighborhood route. Since, I know my pace per mile, it really helps me to up my game and know when I'm slacking and need to step it up again. I felt like I was in a computer game against myself, trying to beat my own time-I had a blast and kept my pace at closer to race pace for 5 miles when I normally would be a bit slower.