Plan was for 5 warmup, then a 3 x 2 tempo, targeting 6:59, with a half-mile recovery between each 2-mile set. Total fail today. I think it's a tough but doable workout for me as long as I'm having a good day; I just felt crappy today for some reason.
The 5-mile warmup felt terrible, even though it was slow. Just all out of breath for no reason. But I decided to give the tempo a try anyway. Kept looking at my watch expecting to see 6-something and would see 7:10 or so - which already felt terrible. I toughed through one set (6:57, 6:56) and it felt like the last set as opposed to the first. Anyway, I just shuffled around until I got to 10 and called it a day. Can't complain too much, I haven't had a bad run in awhile so I was probably overdue for one.
Here's a few pictures of a couple places I usually run over here.
This is Lost Lake which is a 2-mile loop. The fancy houses are where Saddam's cronies, generals, dignitaries, etc. would stay when they came to Baghdad.
Here's a close-up of one of those houses that took a bomb through the roof in 03. Too bad, so sad.
Canal I run along every morning.
Right on the other side of the wall is a mosque. They broadcast the morning prayer every day so loud that I don't even need to run with music. There are loudspeakers on those minarets. It's a mix between a chant and a scream. Who knows what they are saying, but each word seems to take about 5 minutes. The guy has a terrible voice but he can hold his breath for a long time. | 
