Training and plateaus

Another week gone by and I am establishing a base line of sub 10 minute runs for longer distances. I got 15 miles in under 2 and a half hours today and while I feel okay about it, I still have a long way to go to get to my 8 minute goal. Training gets hard and I think I need a montage. A montage gets me some really good workout music and speeds up conditioning that would normally take months into about 4 minutes. It's worked for Rocky, Ricky Bobby and even Gary on Team America. My question is why can't it work for me? Oh yeah, I remember, I live in the reality based world. Things that matter take time; maybe that's something the electorate needs to be reminded of, too.

I'm also a little nervous about running with a group. While solo training has been working out okay, in order to meet goals, I need to test myself against others. The Siberian Express run in early January went pretty well (middle of the pack); so I should feel good about measuring myself against others, but it's still a bit intimidating. Stuff that is new or hasn't been done in a long while (running with a group, meeting with investment bankers, DATING) usually makes me a little nervous, but as I still feel good about myself, I should be okay. Again, I really could use a montage.