Motivation Monday: The progress edition

I know it’s been a few days, but can I tell you about my most recent group run last Tuesday?

I want to tell you about it in part because it was the first run in a long time during which I saw the number “seven” on the pace portion of my Garmin. Like, in the minutes part of it, not seconds.

I also want to tell you about how good it felt to run really hard, and to feel like running really hard a few other times in recent weeks has led to measurable progress. It was my fourth run with the Hampton Roads Runners group that meets in front of the H.K., my favorite seafood restaurant in Virginia Beach (which happens to be across the street from my house). Here’s what those runs have looked like:

March 27: 36:27, 8:52-minute miles.

April 3: No Garmin. By rough calculation, 8-minute miles and change.

April 17: 34:58, 8:23-minute miles.

April 24: 33:38, average pace of 8:02 min/mile. The last mile was 7:43-minute-mile pace. And overall, that’s not eight and change—that’s eight and “just go ahead and keep those two pennies.” The last mile was a pace of 7:45-minute miles.

I’ve been pretty uninterested in pace in recent months, so it came as a surprise to me that I cared so much. But it was incredibly motivating to see that putting in just a little bit of work could yield real, measurable payback.

I’m in D.C. this week, and I’m sure the hills will wipe the motivated smile right off my face when I venture out into them tomorrow. But for now, I’m still kind of riding on the high from last week.

What’s motivating you this week?