Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

9:00 pace

I took a look at the detailed results of the race (when our stupid internet finally came back) and learned a couple things.  I was only a minute behind Ironman after mile 22, and he slowed down a lot after that.  The other guy who I thought was in front, actually wasn't (although he still did the 6-hour race too, and won).  I passed him in the last lap.  I remember doing it too, but he was going so slow I thought it wasn't him.  So it makes me feel a little better that they both slowed down a ton after 3 hours.  Still can't imagine going another 14 miles after I finished though...wow.

78F, S 24-36 mph.  8:33 avg.  The headwind sections were kind of funny, really ground to a halt.  This week is a scale-back week with mileage in the 40s, then back to building up again.

69F, low wind.  A big storm came in last night and dropped a much-needed 1 inch of rain--it's the most we've had since April.  That made for an awesome cool morning.

We did Insanity last night after 4 days off so my legs were a bit tired but the cool weather cancelled it out and I ran a nice 7:53 AP.  I almost wore a shirt today; turns out I should've because it was a bad bug day - I had at least a hundred gnats stuck to me after the run (new PR).

69F, low wind - a repeat of yesterday.  I think the cool weather may be coming to an end soon, though.  Today, just built aerobic base, 7:59 AP.

72F, low wind.  Another really nice morning.  7:50 AP.

I tested out the Kinvaras today - I'm trying to find a lightweight, every day shoe in which I can eventually run a marathon; I'd read nothing but good things about this shoe (and derhammer obviously is a fan) so I tried em (father's day present!) and I was pretty happy with them.  Weight-wise, they are only supposed to be worth 5 sec/mile if you believe the rule-of-thumb that's out there.  Seems like they will be good for a lot more than that (I kept looking at my watch expecting the normal 8:00-8:15 and seeing 7:40s), but I'm guessing a lot of that is mental -- kinda felt like I was just gliding along.  Another factor might have been the easier "cardio recovery" Insanity workout last night, which isn't as exhausting.  Comfort-wise, they felt as nice as my trainers.  I'll wait a few days and see if I get the achilles soreness (it has taken awhile to show up when I've run in flats before) then try again. 

74F, S 10 mph.

No Insanity workout last night as I got home from work around 10pm, which is bedtime for me.  7:44 avg for the run, which was a progressive finish.  Last 5 were 7:42, 7:34, 7:23, 7:16, 6:53.  Slight headwind on the last 3.  I was working pretty hard at the end, although in mile 11 I had to stop dead for 5 seconds (right before my only tough hill) and slide over to the deep grass as someone up ahead decided the shoulder was an appropriate lane to drive in.  I guess that's why I run against traffic.

Tomorrow will be a day off, my rest week is over and I think my legs have a bit more life in them now.  I hope to crush that life out of them over the next few weeks with some nice high mileage.