32:00....hello i'm improving!!

i said in the last post that i was working on letting go of time in order to be able to measure my progress... well tonite was certainly progress. i decided that sense i ran 3.18 miles on tuesday i was going to drop back the distance tonite to 2.65 and push it a little harder and try to improve my time from last week. my best time on the shorter distance was 34:08. tonite i ran that distance in 32 min flat...
so far this week has been a major success. not only did i run another 3.18 miles on tuesday and drop 35 seconds, i approached it with a much different mindset and was able to accomplish a huge goal. the first time i ran the 5k i had a total melt down at the half way point. i got to that rock and realized i had worked so hard to get there and now i have to go all the way back. that did not sit well with me and i panicked. so this last time i just wanted to get through it as relaxed as possible. i decided that i was only going to focus on what i was doing at that given moment. i was not going to look ahead with a sense of completion until i got to the end. it doesn't matter how i got there, just that i got there. each breath was necessary to fuel my legs with the energy to keep moving. each half mile i completed was another step closer to the goal but it only matter what i had completed up to that point.
i got to the end of the run and britt told me that i had dropped 35 seconds. what a sense of accomplishment. i had managed to stay calm and focused and get to the end and improve. awesome...
so tonite i lacked a bit of energy so i decided to back off my distance to get a win under my belt. i was tight and sore from tuesday. i completed my first mile in a decent time, pretty consistent with what i've been doing lately 12:50. i knew that in order to maintain i really had to focus on every step. so i dropped my shoulders and continued to breath... a friend gave me a tip the other day. every time you feel like you're going to panic or back off your pace, take a deep breath and hold it for a second or two. then let it out in the rhythm you're accustomed to. it gave me the chance to collect myself and refocus. very helpful... as i continued the run tonite britt gave me half mile updates on my time and i seemed to be keeping a good pace, even with negative splits. at the end of the run when i'm most tired and really wanting to be done was when i felt like i needed to dig down and go for it. i sprinted the last 100 yards and made it in 32 min flat...
i can honestly say that i'm very proud of myself... i got my win.
the big day is rapidly approaching and i'm ready and excited...
looking forward to your thoughts... please share your experiences with me, cuz i need all the help i can get. ;)