You did better than I did last night on a comparable segment: 0.4 miles, initial grade 2.4%, final grade 4.3%, max grade 5.3%. Avg. speed was about 8 mph with a max of 14. I didn't pedal hard though because, as always, I save my legs for the climb to my house, which starts at 9% grade and levels off to around 7%.

I have less than 3 months lifetime cycling experience, so no way I was going to get a fixie anyway. But I'm glad I didn't get a single speed either.

I say to try getting some tips from racers because maybe there's something you could improve technique-wise, like timing your gear shifts, pedaling technique, starting technique, acceleration, etc. You may not want to get into racing yourself, but you seem to have a great desire to improve your commuting speed and this is where those guys/gals can help.