A.M. We had a service project in the morning, so I did not start my run until 10 AM. By then it got warm, and I underestimated how warm it was going to get. Benjamin came along with me on a bike and was carrying some water. Unfortunately he took off half way through on the downhill in anticipation that he would be getting tired later and not able to keep up with me on his old bike, but he did better than he thought he would. The run was to Bridal Veil and back, 10 miles up, then 10 down. On the way up it was not too warm and I had tail wind, so I did 1:09:20 for the first half without much difficulty. On the way down things were not so good. It got warmer, the thermometer I ran past said 80F. I was feeling sluggish, but managed 5:50 pace in the first 3 miles. Then I got out of the canyon and there was no cover from the sun. 80F would be no big deal in July, but given that a week ago it was 35F I struggled, especially with no water. Also, direct sunlight makes a difference. 80F at 6:00 AM or 8:00 PM is barely noticeable, while 80F at 12:00 PM is a problem. So the pace slowed to 6:00, then started slipping a bit over it, and the last two miles were 6:28, 6:23. But the way I felt with the lack of energy and bounce in the legs I thought I'd be lucky to break 7:00 on those. I suppose this was a practice for the end of the marathon. The total time for 20 was 2:10:14 with the last 10 in 1:00:54, 6:05 average. Jenny and Julia ran 2 on their own.
P.M. Ran with Benjamin and Joseph. Joseph set a record in the mile with the time of 7:53. His splits were 2:00, 1:59, 1:58, 1:56. This does not tell the whole story as his first 200 was 54. Then he slowed down, but we told him if he sped up he'd be able to get sub-8:00. I promised him a remote controlled helicopter if he broke 8:00. Whenever a child asks for something special, we set some form of performance requirements for them to get it. He has tried numerous times before, the fitness was there, but the attention span was not. Finally he was able to focus, and we ordered the helicopter that night. After Joseph's run Benjamin and I ran two more miles giving me 23 for the day, and Benjamin 3 on foot and 20 on a bike. After some rest and a couple of meals I was actually feeling quite strong.
| 