Go slow to go fast.

I felt like I had bumped up to a new level of fitness today...it felt pretty good. All of a sudden today at an avg 150 heart rate I was able to hold a much stronger pace than before.  My legs and feet feel stronger than they have in a while and after a super hilly 10 mile run I feel great.   My heart rate for that pace on that hilly of a run a few weeks ago would have probably been 10-15 bpm higher I'm betting.  FEELING GREAT! I'm really grateful to be able to run!  Its such a blessing.  Running, and exercising in general, improves my mood and my life a lot.  I notice a drastic difference in the way I feel (for the worse) on days I don't exercise my body.  And I really enjoy doing it.  I vaguely remember back to the time when exercising was a burden, and it just seems odd to me now how I could have felt that way.  Running and biking these days are one of my favorite parts of the day. Here are my stats for today: 10 Miles - Time: 1:22:07 - Pace: 8:12/mile - HR: 151 avg - Ascent/Descent: 1065 Ft I'm pretty pleased with the direction my fitness level is heading.  Its nice to see progress in my pace vs. heart rate sometimes.  That's one reason I like tracking all the data on my runs, its nice to have data to show me how my body performs, rather than just guessing based on how I felt.  I used to get discouraged sometimes on slower days by seeing the data.  But now I just appreciate knowing it, because I realize on days I feel like going slower that is just what my body needs that day.