Seeking a better country...

10 minute miles.  2 of the kids joined me for the "24" season 5 viewing.  Not surprisingly, Jack Bauer is in trouble again.  In 2 episodes he killed 4 people. 

So, should I start cutting back this week or wait till next week?  

These miles felt like they took forever.  Clocking in at a pedestrian 71 minutes, I guess they did.  The good news is, that's a m/m faster than yesterday.  Ugh.  There is no sign of bounce in my legs today, either.

I had a better workout last night.  Instead of being acted upon, I acted.  2 miles at 7 mph, then the rest at 8 mph.  After two nights of bumping along, it felt great to get on top of things, and run a little harder/sweatier.  3 older kids joined me for "24" viewing.  Several head-shots later, I wish they hadn't.  

I tried Jake's mtn dew concoction, minus the electrolyte plus the fizz.  It tasted great, and was my first dew since Sunday.   I didn't have any fancy bottles though, just an ugly, restaurant-grade tumbler from Bintz.  So far, they have proven indestructible, but the kids have still lost a few of them.

I'm soliciting recommendations for books that are set in or about New England.  I'm set with John Adams, but  I need some stuff for the younger readers (13-18).  One of the kids devours facts/historical, but the rest enjoy fiction/fantasy. 

2 miles warmup, then 8 @ 8 mph.  For some reason, 8 mph seems faster than 7:30 pace even though they are the same.  I think it's the higher digit.  Strangely, 9 mph doesn't seem faster than 6:45 pace.  I'm not as familiar with these numbers as I should be, what, with my aspirations.  I guess they were more wishful thinking this time around.

Still, it's been a good training cycle.  I'm going to wonder what to do with my hard-earned 50 mpw habit when there's no marathon on the horizon.  Honestly, it's getting time for the pendulum to swing back.

If I was going to write a poem on my blog, it probably wouldn't rhyme.  There might be punctuation issues, meter would be absent, and like as not it would be ironic, in a half-smile, half-frown kind of way.  I wish Bam was still making entries about leprehcauns.  How do you spell that word anyway?

8 miles, alternating slow and slower.  It took 2 episodes of "24" to do these 8, so really slow.

"24" progression run.  I got up to 10 miles in less than 2 episodes, so much better effort than last night.  Top pace was 6:58 (8.6 mph).

I would have enjoyed running outside, but so much dust and pollen stirred up by the wind would have knocked the allergies into mega-high gear.