Pretty good run. Glad I got it in early because it was a busy day afterwards and I'm exhausted. Ran a new route today which is always fun. Started with the usual route to the North freeway exchange but rather than turn around, I kept heading North on the road which eventually brought me to the town of Merlin via the backroad. Major hills both ways--mile 6 had 400 ft elevation gain!! Looked at my watch at one point during that beast and saw my average pace at 10:19! What goes up must come down and I made up for it on the backside. Ran to Rays in Merlin (mile 9) to use the bathroom and drench my head (first hot day of the year and we made it into the 80's after months no hotter than high 50's/low 60's). Came back via Anderson Dental and Midland Ave, then up Highland and down Beacon to Wal-Mart and eventually home after passing Albertsons. Total climbing for the day was just under 1600 ft, my most ever, I think. No miles were terribly fast or slow and I ended up with an average of 6:42 for the 21 miles. Didn't feel like pushing a tempo section like I have the last 4-5 week--figured I'd just roll with it and come what may. Good stuff...
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