Bret

18 miles on the treadmill this afternoon while watching the Rays defeat the Yankees.  Did the last 2 miles at marathon pace.  Felt pretty solid most of the run.  Debated whether to do 20 or 18 which was on my schedule; opted to do the last 2 miles at marathon pace as an alternative.  I seem to benefit from fast finish long runs.

Easy recovery run - with my daughter Delaney who is training for her first HS cross country season.  Legs felt a bit stiff in the first mile be loosened up nicely on a very muggy morning after an overnight thunderstorm.

9.25 miles in 65 mins on treadmill at 1% incline.  Started at 7.0 mph and gradually increased the pace until I was suffering.  Actually probably moved up the speed a little too quickly as my heartrate was blowing up and I needed to slow down at 55 mins.  I am a little disappointed with how I felt today - sort of heavy and a bit "flat".  Generally I do better running at a slower pace for  a few minutes when I start and don't get to an 8 min per mile pace until about a half or 3/4 of a mile.  I think jumping in at 7 mph though not fast, was faster than my normal wind up and as a result I struggled to find a comfortable groove today.

AM - easy recovery run with Delaney and with Riley who has a week break between club swimming and high school swimming.  Kinda cool to be out running with two of my daughters in the morning.  Felt very blessed.

PM run at lunchtime.  8.0 miles - call it the "dump run" as the route goes by the solid waste facility - on a particularly hot day such as today, the odor and the heat make this one a challenge.  Despite the heat humidity and smell, had a pretty good run - Forerunner 405 watch battery died about a third of the way through - so that may explain why the run was good, as I was not checking my pace on the watch.

AM - Easy 3.0 miles this morning with  two of my teenaged daughters - chatted and laughed most of the run.  Great way to start the day.

PM - Lunchtime run on the treadmill.   Since there are no real hills where I live in Florida, my hill workouts are primarily on the treadmill.  Total 8 miles.  2 mile warm up then did a progression where I started out at 6% grade for a mile at 8:20 pace, then "rested" at 7:30 pace for about .3 miles then 7% grade for 1.25 miles at 8:10 pace, with a "rest" at 7:20 pace for .25 miles, then 8% grade for 1.5 miles at 8 min pace - rested for a half mile then did the last mile or so at marathon race pace.  Great workout - started as a strength workout and then became more of a threshold workout.

Easy 3.5 miles this morning with Riley and Delaney.  No rain over night so it was a bit warmer than the last few mornings.  Delaney had soccer training last night and so was particularly sore and tired.  Riley who is used to swimming kept snickering at the clop clop sound of our feet during the run.  Easily amused.

PM - Lunchtime run 7.5 miles.  Run was entirely during a shower/thunderstorm - so it was a slog with very heavy water soaked shoes most of the way.  Managed a marathon pace last mile.  Enjoyed running in the rain - except for the heavy shoes and the occassional lightning strike in the near vicinity!

AM - 1 hour of cycling on the TT bike - reasonable effort of 20 miles - then transitioned to a run of 5.5 miles.  Really stuggled with the heat/humidity on the run this morning as I got a later start than expected.  Kept it under 8 mins per mile, but just barely.