40F to 55F, blue skies, light wind from the NW. Objectives: 9 miles easy (w/ club run), 8 miles MP on mostly flat roads, finish w/ Leg Builder Hill. Brutal. It may have been too soon to attempt this workout after racing just last weekend. But - I did it! My target for the MP miles was 9:00-9:15 at first, but my left quad starting feeling crampy in the third mile, so I pulled back to "just keep it under 9:30." After the 7th mile, I stopped in a bathroom, not really realizing how quickly rigor mortis can set in. Oh that 8th mile was torture at first! MP miles: 9:16, 9:07, 9:10, 9:30, 9:19, 9:17, 9:26, 9:11. There was about a half mile of easy jogging between the last MP mile and the beginning of the 2 mile LB hill. I spend that half mile thinking such cheery thoughts as, "I am doomed," "How in the h am I going to make it up that hill," and "I wonder if Mr. Sno would come and pick me up." In other words... I. Was. Broken. My legs were killing me, with that special kind of pain you only get at the end of a marathon. Again, I really wonder if it was too soon to do this workout, but Newport is just 4 weeks away, so I felt like desperate measures were in order. I made it up most of the hill at a pathetic jog, but the last .4 brought me to my knees a walk, and a painful one at that. (The last part of the hill is the steepest, about 20% grade.) In the Good News department, this is the farthest run I've had in the Piranhas and I think my feet did very well. Better than the traitor legs, that's for sure. I think my plan is still to do the marathon in my ST3's, but the Piranhas are 1) more fun and 2) strengthening to the feet and legs. Speaking of shoes, I have some new running moccasins. RunAmocs. Isn't that clever? Haven't tried them on a run yet, but I look forward to it. I've been waiting for a dry day with appropriate easy objectives. I also own their regular mocs, which are wonderful, but not great for running for a variety of reasons. 
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