Reality Check

Cheesy grin at Ka'ena Point

Happy Valentine's Day!  My run this morning included "Heartbreak Hill" in Hawaii Kai for the first time.  I'm lucky to be married to a great guy, so that was my only heartbreak on Valentine's Day.  I don't feature him much on this blog, but he is my partner in adventure and biggest fan.  He has the day off tomorrow so we may try to find a kayak rental, stay tuned...

Post marathon foot massage (you can see me reflected in his glasses!)

I started getting curious this week about my pace.  I felt like I was consistently faster, but really needed to know.  Let the numbers speak for themselves:

January 2015
Week 1:  27.89 miles/12:30 ave pace
Week 2:  19.18 miles/12:43 ave pace
Week 3:  0 miles due to the flu!
Week 4:  15.47 miles/11:59 ave pace

February 2015
Week 1:  14.00 miles/11:57 ave pace
Week 2:  17.65 miles/12:50 ave pace

First six weeks of 2015
94.19 miles
12:26 ave pace

Sometimes I stop in the middle of run, because I'm staring at Diamond Head

January 2016
Week 1:  23.57 miles/11:02 ave pace
Week 2:  22.67 miles/10:39 ave pace
Week 3:  28.38 miles/11:15 ave pace
Week 4:  15.24 miles/10:43 ave pace

February 2016
Week 1:  23.37 miles/10:24 ave pace
Week 2:  13.66 miles/10:04 ave pace

First six weeks of 2016
132.58 miles
10:44 ave pace

Other times I'm staring at Koko Head

I'm actually in shock at this overall improvement!  I haven't done any speed work since my marathon in November, but I am consistently faster every time I run.  Yesterday I was running and kept seeing my pace in the mid 9s.  I know that's not super fast for a lot of people, but this is me.  More than a minute and a half faster than a year ago.

I'm still in the learning stages of running with a power meter.  I want to get a little more data accumulated and there are a couple of tests I need to do, then I'll do a full review.  I also want to do at least one interval workout.  It makes me wonder, am I running faster because I like seeing high power readings or am I feeling confident that I can run faster when my power numbers are a little lower?  Or am I just faster and my power meter has nothing to do with it?!

Yesterday's power reading - that 340 watts HURT!

How have the first six weeks of 2016 treated you?