Mile Repeats and the Giveaway Winner

I haven't done mile repeats as a workout before. I had them as the first workout this week so I was looking for redemption after Friday's not so great long run. I was going to try to meet up with my running group but by the time I got home, I was hungry and realized I needed to have dinner first if I wanted to have a quality workout.

"Wow" is all I have to say about this workout. This was a tough one, possibly the most challenging workout I've completed on this training cycle (or ever?). I had to tell myself that PRs aren't easy. If they were easy, everyone would get them. They needed to be earned and I was earning mine. After the 1st repeat was finished, I knew this was going to be a challenging workout. Sweat dripped from my brow as I still had 3 more to go. Traffic lights worked in my favor along the way, which I took as a sign that I could do this workout. I wasn't meant to stop or the light would have changed. I tried to keep all my thoughts positive during this workout and I think it worked in my favor. The goal was to finish all 4 repeats between 7:35-7:40. Actual splits were...
Mile 1: 7:38
Mile 2: 7:37
Mile 3: 7:39
Mile 4: 7:38

Consistent and within the target. I tried to push that last mile towards a 7:35 or 7:36 but with the slight up hills and down hills along the way, I was just short. It is only a few seconds though and I'm still really happy with this workout! Of course I had to grab a quick action shot between intervals.

Talk about a quality photo...

I can't believe how light it remains well into the evening. Summer is here, officially. The 100 degree temps we're expecting on Thursday are solidifying that...

I'm trying to work on a running mantra to help keep me motivated during a tough workout and on race day. I'm having trouble coming up with some on my own that keep the message positive (without words like "don't" or "can't"). I'm going to do some Googleing today but I thought I would ask what works best for all of you? What is your running or workout mantra that helps you get through the end of a tough workout??


In other news, the winner of the Warrior Dash helmet giveaway is...
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