Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

73F, 91%.  7:45 AP.  A real slog fest today, sucks that it is only going to get hotter for the next 2 months!  In fairness, I probably should've started earlier - as I was leaving, the sun was just beginning to rise, and shade does not exist out here on the plains, so I got a face full of sun the whole time.  Anyway, I really suffered through the last 6 or 7 but I feel like I should make some kind of long run attempt every once and awhile this summer since the marathon is my long-term focus.  So I guess I did that today.

70F, 93%.  8:33 AP.  Felt pretty wiped out today, even though it was a recovery run.  I think I will just repeat this run tomorrow.  2 workouts plus a long run every week is taking a toll and I think the only way to get through it is to make the other 4 days really easy like this.

73F, 85%, SSE 16-23 mph.  8:20 AP.  Another recovery run, trying to regenerate my legs for the next workout - 20 min threshold run tomorrow.  I think they will be ready, though I was still a little sluggish-feeling today.  Much improved from the last few days though.

74F, 85%, SSE 17-23 mph.  7:18 AP.  Goal was to get in 20 min @ LT pace (shooting for 6:20/mile).

7 easy, then a 5K in 19:29, then a short cooldown back to my house.

Splits were 6:19, 6:23, 6:09, 37.  Full disclosure: the first 2 miles were neutral, but the last mile dropped 40 feet.  Otherwise I would have been hurtin' a lot more.  This was hard.  Maybe too much warmup when it's already warm out.

Oh and I pulled a tick off my leg after a "pit stop" in a ditch on the way out.

71F, 92%.  8:12 AP.  more recovery..

70F, 95%.  Friday is track day, so I was back for more torture.  This time 6 x 800m, 300m recoveries, shooting for 800's between my theoretical McMillan 5K and 10K pace - so 2:55 - 3:02.  I was successful again; average was 2:57.  I think I'm getting better at these, finally.

2:58, 2:59, 2:58, 2:56, 2:57, 2:56.

Recoveries averaged 1:33.

Only downside today was all the gnat clouds around one of the curves.  They all seemed to be right on the inside of lane 1.  So the choice was to either run through the gnats, or take lane 2 and add a little distance....my chest ended up looked like a killing field with maybe a hundred dead gnat bodies stuck to my torso.  I think I ate 5 or 6, with one ending up in my eye.