Kent, Kurt, Larry and I ran from home up past Bridal Veil and back. We started at 5:30 am to try to beat the heat. We were running too slow for Kurt so he took off early and we only saw him again briefly as he passed us on his way back home. We ran up 7.5 miles. At that point Kent and Larry headed back, like I should have. Instead, I decided to go a half mile farther and then chase them home. I had felt pretty strong last week. As it turns out, all I did was run about the same speed as them, just farther behind. I don't know if it was the heat, the longer distance, or being sick late in the week, but the run back was very hard. I averaged 8:56/mi overall for the 16 miles, and only managed a couple of miles at a sub-8:00/mi pace. The last three 1/2 mile sections that I ran last week at 6:55/mi, 7:13/mi, and 7:22/mi I ran this week at 9:22/mi, 9:01/mi, and 8:34/mi. I was beat after the run. I cooled my legs off and did some stretching in the kids pool in the backyard. I'm feeling better now. It's nice to get a long run behind me. Kent was talking about 18 miles for next week, and maybe 20 miles the week after that. It's that time of year. I hope I'm up for it. | 