Hey, Dummy! Too Fast!

Since I was running 2 miles less than yesterday, I wanted to have a faster pace than the 8:38. 8:30 would have been fine. I knew it would be a difficult task, so I started out running like crazy. Mile 1 was in 7:27. I thought to myself, "You, dummy, that was too fast. You can hardly breathe. Not only can you not keep that pace up, it will probably cost you minutes in the miles left." Hoping to avoid the major slow down, I kept pushing. Miles 2 thru 4 - 8:09, 8:02, and 8:06. Total time: 31:43. Pace: 7:56. Thanks yo Mile 1, I was able to finish with a pace under 8:00, even though only 1 of the 4 miles was actually under 8:00. This is the first time I've been under an 8:00 pace since October 28, 2010!

My heart rates seem confusing to me. As expected, my average heart rate of 177 was one of my highest (181, 178). What I don't understand is why my max HR was not in the 190's. I ran harder today - especially during the first mile, and was having to use all I had during the last mile - than I have in quite some time. It was 188. I may have it the max in the last mile, because my recovery started at 187 and went down to 131.