Can I get faster by running 400 meters?

So, here's the deal... speed, agility, coordination… athleticism in general, these are not attributes that I naturally possess.

These are the words that I would use to describe myself:

Slow.
Clumsy.
Awkward.

This running thing is still fairly new to me. I didn't run track or cross country in high school. Hell, the only running I did.. was... actually, I can't think of anytime I actually ran. So, when you take that into consideration, the fact that I'm still a pretty slow runner, shouldn't be that big of a deal, right?

And honestly... as long as I'm chugging along in the 9:00/mile range... I'm not complaining.

However, lately... I've been running really slow. It's not uncommon for me to check my pace with my Nike Nano and be at 10:47/mile or 11:01/mile. At first, I thought... okay, it's because I just got back from running a marathon. And then I thought, okay, it's because my knee is jacked up. And lately, I've been thinking, okay, it's because its so hot and humid outside.

But, this week... I had ran out of excuses. The temps are cooler, my knee is fine, and it's been like 6 weeks since the marathon. This week, I had come to the realization that I've regressed back to a slower pace.

Until this morning... this morning, during a particularly long straight stretch, I noticed a gentleman pretty far ahead of me. No big deal, I kept running and then a few minutes later, I happen to notice that he was still running ahead of me, but he was now closer to me. I thought.. hmmm... he must have gotten held up at a red light. And then I started watching him. And you know what? I was quickly gaining ground on him. I checked my pace: 10:37/mile. WTF? Here is a guy, first of all (and we all know men naturally run faster than women) who is definitely skinnier than me (and about my height) and I'm gaining ground on him? Eventually he turned off into another direction... but that got me thinking...

Could my nano be wrong?

Of course it could! It's been wrong many times before... but always in the opposite direction. It's always told me I've gone farther and faster than I really had.

But, you know what? I always have to recalibrate my nano, everytime I get a new pair of shoes... and I didn't do that this time. So, I'm thinking that maybe... it is my nano and not me that's slow.

I'm going to run to the track tomorrow and recalibrate. Hopefully I will magically shave a minute off my pace in a 400 meter recalibration test.

Here's hoping...

(Not that speed matters, of course).