Run from the house to LPT out & back. Sunny, low 40's, light breezes.

How could one not run on a day like this.

Looks like this is going to be a rest week for me. Hopefully not run more than 40 miles, maybe less. I realized that I've run 12 weeks in a row of at least 50 miles (two of those weeks were 60+ miles). This is the first time I've run this much, this consistently, so in the spirit of caution, and staying healthy, I'm cutting back for a week or two. Oh, and my right hip has been complaining the last couple of runs. I still intend to run six days a week, just less mileage. Probably on the treadmill tonight.

4 easy miles on the treadmill...at home...you know, a four mile treadmill run can be very refreshing, like a handful of Junior Mints.

Thanks to Ray Lamontagne for the audio delights.

This afternoon from the house to LPT out & back. Sunny, 35F, windless. Still shorts weather!

Mile splits: 1) 8:33 2) 8:31 3) 8:27 4) 8:19 5) 8:26 6) 8:16 7) 8:13 Avg 8:23

So, this is my fastest pace to date. I could've kept going too but I'm taking it easy this week. I don't know why all of a sudden today I can run much faster than usual, but todays run gives me confidence that by Fall of '09 I can acheive my marathon goal. It was such a good feeling, every time I looked at my watch I experienced some mild cognitive dissonance because my brain had never seen those splits before. I've been running the same pace range for so long that I automatically compute my splits when I see my time. Everytime I looked at my watch today, I had to pause my brain and reconfigure the math.

Another note, my increased speed today didn't really require any extra effort, I was just along for the ride, although once I realized I was running quicker, I was more motivated to keep pushing. Is this just aerobic conditioning doing it's job? Can I expect to increase my speed substantially once I begin adding speed work to my training?

Drove to LPT and ran. Flat course. Sunny, low 40's.

Todays run wasn't effortless like yesterday, but I was still able to run faster. This is a significant breakthrough for me this week.

7 miles/57:43/8:15 avg. pace

1) 8:36  2) 8:12  3) 8:17  4) 8:25  5) 8:11  6) 8:06  7) 7:56 

Easy four on the treaded dreadmill this afternoon.

The sounds of Live's "Throwing Copper" on the boombox. Hard to imagine that CD was released fourteen years ago.

Mid-day update: well, I haven't run yet today (looks like the treadmill tonight for me). BUT I have managed to polish off a can of Pringles potato chips (barbecue flavor). Love that sodium!

PM: Seasonal treadmill joy this evening. 2 mi. warmup, 6x90 seconds with 90 seconds easy in between,  5 @ 8:00 + 1 @ 7:30, then cooldown (kicked the last 1/4 mile). Total 6 miles.