3 Mile Personal Record

Today I set a personal record! 

After the past 2 day of having average-to-slow running times (about 9 min/miles), I decided to switch some things up today to see if they'd make any kind of impact on my time. 

I was right! :) I completed my 3 miles in 24:45 with an 8:14 min/mile (The closest I've come to that was a 3.5 mile run I did 2 weeks ago with an 8:24 min/mile). The first mile of today's 3 was completed in 7:40, which I don't think I've ever done before!

So what did I change up? 

Factors that may have impacted my time today:

1. Weather - 55 and sunny. My definition of the perfect running weather...minus the wind. I could have lived without the wind...especially going against it and uphill, but I was thankful for it when it was behind me and I was going downhill. 
2. I had cereal and fruit for breakfast instead of my normal protein shake - sometimes I think having a lot of liquid in my stomach a few hours before running can make me feel a little funny inside. Instead, I had my shake afterwards for lunch. 
3. I took Body Pump last night at Gold's Gym. While I thought it might make me sore and weak today and have a negative impact on my run, quite the opposite occurred. I felt strong and powerful.
4. I put on my "old" running shoes. I think this had the biggest impact for me today. I decided to bust out the ol' green and gold running shoes I wore last year just for kicks (pun intended). Every shoe fits differently and it was nice to have a new feeling on my feet after having worn my current shoes for the past month. These shoes aren't old or worn out, I just found a new pair I liked to replace them, so they have a few more miles left in them. I think I'll start using them at least once a week just to shake things up a bit and give my feet a change of pace (pun intended, again! I'm on a roll). 

1 more day in January! I have 4 miles to do tomorrow in order to reach my monthly goal and stay on track for 1000. 

01/30/2013: Miles run - 76 of 1000. Miles remaining - 924 of 1000