Running progress

after finishing my easy 1h ride at midnight, I dragged myself out of bed at 7 this morning to do my running intervals. I had to get it done before A woke up because we were going to St Louis in the afternoon to get the marriage licence. Woot woot!
I didnt feel stellar during the warm up and A was kind of fussing (I could hear her via baby monitor) and I was nervous she would wake up before I am done. But she slept right through it, and I even had time to make me a recovery drink and shower.
Anyway, the workout. I have been seeing improvements and after 400/800/1200/800/400 ladder last week I decided I need to try to run a mile at 8' pace And then I changed that to 2xmile. With 400 before and after. And I did it! I did 400 at 7:30 pace (felt great to open up my stride and run fast....it makes me sad to call 7:30 pace fast but it is what it is. My old coach told me not to worry about paces. Just run consistently and speed will come) and then a mile at 8' pace. I was struggling! But it was all mental. I wanted to quit, I wanted to cut it short but I knew it was all in my head. It was not too hard, my body was handling that pace well, there was no reason to quit!
The second mile went better, I used some tough love on me to help me stay strong.
And then I finished with 7:30 pace 400.

Overall, I am happy. Just 4-5 weeks ago I was struggling holding 8' pace for 4x400. Now I can do mile repeats at that pace. It is true, I just need to run consistently and speed will come. Plus these extra 45 pounds are not helping me be fast either:(
And the mental struggle? I havent done anything that pushed me for 9 months! It is normal that I lost the ability/willingmess to push through uncomfortable workouts. But i know that as I continue doing challenging workouts, the mental toughtness will come back.