sub-3 or blow-up trying

8.25 miles at 10min pace. 

Ran 8.75 miles @ 9:15 pace.

Ran 5.1 miles in the afternoon w/my wife through some pretty awesome bike trails.  She totally impressed me with her off-road running ability. 

"Big Workout" #3:  In hindsight I wish I got up an hour earlier- left at 7:40 and things really began to heat up within an hour or so.  Still, felt as though I got a solid workout in.  Began with a 2-mile warm-up, followed by a 2-mile tempo (6:26,6:13).  Jogged a mile and then picked up the pace for a mile (6:16).  Fortunately I found a drinking fountain by a public park and soaked in a bit, wrung out my shirt, and left it out to dry.  Jogged another mile and then repeated a 2-mile tempo (6:42,6:32)- this one definitely took a little more work.  Jogged 2 more miles and then decided to give one more 2-mile tempo a shot (6:42,6:34)- dug a little deeper for this one and loudly squished my way through it with drenched shoes/socks.  Soaked in more fluids at the park and found my tech-shirt missing- bummer, one of my favorite shirts.  Oh well, guess anyone willing to steal a shirt soaked in sweat needs it far more than I do.  Jogged 1-mile home as a "cooldown"- 14 miles total, 7 of them at a firm pace.  I think the heat affected my pace by 20 seconds or so.  Planning on an early evening jog with my wife.

Ended up going with family yesterday to a waterpark all day (so no evening run).  Got up early and found an awesome bike trail in the woods (we're vacationing in Indiana)- ran 8.25 miles at a slow pace and thoroughly enjoyed the run.

6.1 miles w/my wife through bike trails- felt great!

5 miles w/my wife w/2 on the trails- nice, easy pace.

Ran 9.5 miles @ 10min pace. 

Big workout #4:  It's been a tough week to get any kind of quality running- hot and humid, even in the early mornings!  However, I feel good about getting in both quality mileage and 2 "bigger workouts" in despite the less than ideal climate.  Began after dinner with 3 mile warm-up (already a bit sweaty...going 10min/per mile).  Followed w/a 2-mile tempo (6:22,6:24), 2-miles slow, 2-mile tempo (6:28,6:30), and then a quick water break (also wrung out shirt and socks)...Jogged another 2-miles and moved into my third 2-mile tempo (6:41,6:31), 2 miles slow, and then on mile 16 (getting dark) did my last threshold mile (6:24), followed by a "cooldown" mile- 17 miles total.  Two hard workouts a week are starting to feel more managable- even in the heat!  Achilles are still a bit sore on my right leg (uncomfortable, yet tolerable), so I'm holding out on VO2 Max for a week or two.  First 80-mile week since Boston.