IS MY WATCH BROKEN?

I think Nike is playing a cruel trick on me.

I bought a new stop watch/heart rate monitor in August to assist in my training. You know, one of those fancy-dancy ones with the thing that wraps around your chest?

Anyway, I think the seconds on it must be a tad slow...

I broke my 8 mile personal record on Tuesday morning averaging less than a 7 min/mile.

And this morning I ran 12 miles in 1:24:31 which is about a 7:02 pace. I finished in a sprint and didn't even feel tired. My heart rate averaged 153 for the entire run, and it never went over 171 (my high end). I don't even think it got close to 165.

The elements were in my favor. It was 37 degrees with hardly any wind when I left the house. When I got to the 6 mile mark and turned around, the wind began blowing rather hard out of the north but I was running due west, and a cross wind is much, much easier to run in than a head wind. The last 2.5 miles of my run were due south so I had the wind at my back.

So my watch is either lying to me, I had a good pace because of the elements or my body is beginning to respond like it never has before at this point in my training.

I hope it's a combination of the last two things. I'd hate to have to sue Nike.