6 mile tempo run comparison test, I KICK MY OWN BUTT!

CLIEVES HILL 6 MILE TEMPO RUN
Running in the Zone!
I chose the Clieves hill circuit to do my planned tempo run, the weather was not looking to good with strong blustery winds and heavy leaden Sky's. I parked at the top of the hill and ran a lap to get warmed up, the legs felt sluggish at first but they came around before I'd finished the 3 mile lap. I'd seen a running video yesterday that reckoned that it was important to keep your head up and dropping your head down would reduce your speed, I'd noticed as I ran that my natural style was to drop my head down and if I LIFTED MY HEAD MY SPEED INCREASED, COOL I'LL WORK ON THIS! I kicked straight into the session as I set off on 2 laps which included 2 x up the 3/4 mile hill. I felt quite strong once I got going and remembered what Canute had said about concentrating on the moment and not letting your mind drift on to negative thoughts such as how I'd feel on the second lap etc, It seemed to work and despite the strong winds I went through the end of the first lap faster than last month, into the second lap I powered down the hill then worked hard to maintain pace into the strong wind, a couple more minutes and I took a left turn and got some shelter from the wind. Soon I was out on to the main road with the wind on my back with my speed reaching 10.6 mph before the gradual uphill took its toll! One more left turn and I was on my final climb up Clieves hill, pumping my knees up the hill I tried to lift my effort to the finish. I looked at the Garmin and was pleased to see I'd run 11 seconds per mile faster than a month ago!
Now, if I had a time machine I could go back in time a month and kick my own butt By a whopping minute and 6 secs!
'6 miles Clieves hill circuit in 37.44, 6.17 pace, max speed 12.8 mph, plus warm up and cool down = 1.17

RYAN HALL on Mental Training;
RH: I am still learning a lot about the mental side of training and racing. What I am focusing a lot of lately is just being in the moment. I, and I think all runners, have a tendency to think too much. Whether it is worrying about Heartbreak Hill, thinking about what a competitor is doing, or get flustered because the last mile split was too slow, we all have a tendency to have our mind cluttered with a lot of junk. I am learning to clean out the trash and just be where I am and poor myself into the step I am about to take. I find that I get more out of myself when my mind isn't cluttered with so much garbage.