"When is this going to feel easy?" I asked.

If you have a lot of room for improvement, then it's a lot easier to find little milestones in your training. For the last ten years, I've been stuck at the same paces: a 7:00 mile was all out racing, a 7:30 mile was pretty intense, and an 8:00 mile was moderately difficult. I was also stuck at an inconsistent 10-15 miles per week, and sometimes there would be weeks I wouldn't even run. Notice the emphasis on was?

My fitness streak continues into February. I finished out the month averaging 25 miles a week and started to notice some minor progress. This past week, I did two little workouts. The first one was 5 miles on the treadmill, with the 2nd and 4th mile incorporating an incline build up to 5% while maintaining a pace that felt a little challenging but hardily taxing. A relaxed, efficient pace. The screen was broken so I wasn't sure how fast this pace was until I finished the workout. 8:34 was the final result and that shocked me because in the past 8:34 would have been a little bit tougher, especially on the treadmill. And never mind using the incline back then.

The other workout was a mini tempo run, one that I've been doing the last three weekends to compliment my long run. On the most recent mini tempo, I warmed up with a mile and then went to 7:47 pace during the second mile and back to an easy recovery jog on the third. I was shocked at how easy 7:47 felt. Yes, I could've just been having a really good day. But my breathing felt effortless and I felt as if I could carry this pace for a longer distance. A few months ago, I struggled just to stay on the treadmill at that pace! It was in this workout that I could finally see beyond what I knew and felt in the past. It finally felt easy.

I am very happy with how the month of January went running wise. Biofeedback has helped me to recognize progress on a whole different level as I feel very in tune with my body while it undergoes some major changes. Towards the end of the month, I started to wear my racing flats and notice less foot pain and a better stride. As a result, I finally used my Nike gift cards from months ago to buy a pair of Nike Frees, which weigh one ounce more than my racers. February will not only include a new pair of shoes but a 5 mile increase in mileage per week. Sometimes I get impatient and just want to be fast already and race. But for the most part, it's more fun to see all these little improvements each and every day because one day, the room for improvement will only get smaller.