8 x 400 = confusion

Yesterday was time for my speedwork in my marathon training...I use the term speedwork a little loosely, as the pace I was supposed to run my repeats at was what I was running while warming up. I am not a fast runner, but unless the track I ran at was just short of a 1/4 mile, I was running at 8:00/miles for warm-up. I had to force myself to slow down so I was keeping a 9:00/mile pace. The funny thing was, I was feeling sluggishly slow to begin with. Somehow I was running 1:45 for my 400 meter repeats! Maybe it was the weather - it was much cooler and there was a slight breeze - it felt great to be outside. The process of running repeats is supposed to be simple, but I probably think too much about it. Anyway, I got my workout in. A nice easy 30 minute run tonight and then 9 miles this weekend...