Two good runs: one fast, one slow, both hot.

Yesterday's workout (Central Park): 3.25 miles at 8:52 per mile

Today's workout (street): 5.48 miles at 9:21 per mile

In terms of effort I'd say both today's and yesterday's runs were about even. It's hot today and it was hot in NYC yesterday when I trekked over to Central Park. I much prefer the cooler seasons for running but I also appreciate the way the trees and plants bloom in late spring and summer. The Park was filled with runners, cyclists and walkers when I arrived and I made my way over to the bike path on the lower loop to start my planned 3 mile run. My friend Steve had a conflict so he couldn't join me today so I decided to go it alone for a run that followed the lower and upper loops below the reservoir. I knew that the hardest part of the run would happen in the first half because a good part of that route is uphill.

Surprisingly, it took me about a mile to break a sweat but once I did I got REALLY hot. I cut across the Great Lawn and headed back down, hugging the shade and happy to know that a few downhills awaited me. I'd maintained a decent pace even with the uphill challenges and I passed a number of runners although I also got passed a couple of times near the end. By the time I returned to my starting point I was glad to finish, cool down and head back to the office. A meeting had spilled into my planned running window that caused my run+lunch timing to be very tight. I quickly changed, grabbed a fast bite and finished a minute before my 2:00 meeting. I was glad that I'd run an 8:52 pace or I might have ended up being late!

This morning I headed out for a neighborhood run with no planned route in mind. I intentionally ignored the Garmin because I didn't want to influence my pace in any way. Although it was hot and sunny I figured that I could a cover some good distance as long as I didn't push too hard. I did check my heart rate throughout the run to ensure I was keeping to around 80% of max. I traveled through my neighborhood roads and cut across to neighborhood #2 at the 2.5 mile mark. I chose some different streets that I hadn't run before, just for a change. I wound up covering 5.5 miles and finished feeling like I'd done a lot of work this morning. I need to work more on distance so I'm considering heading to Bethpage tomorrow to run the bike path where I can cover 8 to 10 miles out and back. Either that or a return to Stillwell to begin training for the next XTERRA race.