Speed Work

I've always been okay with how fast I run, and I still am, but I started feeling like maybe I could do more, go a little faster. Shouldn't we always change up our training just a bit to keep it exciting and challenging? I really didn't go into this with too much of a plan. I thought I'd try a speed and then see how I felt after a minute or two and then walk, and I wasn't even sure how far I was going to run. I guess you could say I really had no expectations on this run, I just wanted to try speed work. Here's how it went - 

1 min walk

5 mins at 10 min/mile

then I started a routine of 2 mins run/1 min walk

first round was at approximately 9 min/mile

second round was at approximately 8:30 min/mile

the next 5 rounds I did around an 8 min/mile

finished off with 3 mins at a 10 min/mile

3 miles in 29:54

I was always afraid of doing speed work, now I'm wondering, why didn't I do that before???? It was fun and challenging and I can't wait until the next time. Speedwork will definitely be incorporated weekly into my training plan. Here's my plan - 

Mon - XT

Tues - speedwork

Wed - XT

Thurs - easy run

Fri - XT

Sat - rest

Sun - long run

I also would love to add yoga in there - maybe Tues and Thursday mornings. 

What do you all think about speedwork? And how do you incorporate it into your training? Any success stories because of it?