It was a beautiful, perfect weather day for a run. As we all know, slowing down for the long runs is not easy and I really wanted to do this last long run before the marathon at a slow pace. My wife runs a fairly slower pace than me and she is training to run the half marathon the day I run the full. So we went out together and 'met in the middle' as far as paces go. It went well as she got the kick she has been needing to increase her pace and I slowed down to run together. We had the nicest run through the bike/walk/run paths that go through the beautiful city of Toronto. The trails meander thorough many public parks and picnic areas and are really shamefully unused by the people of the city. So we went our separate ways at about 15k as she headed home and I continued to run my scheduled long run. Our pace at that point was 6:30/K about 45 seconds per K than I usually would have run but I really was feeling great as a result. I was scheduled for 32k but I was also going for a total running time of 3 1/2 to 4 hours. I hadn't mapped out today's route so I was just going for the time at this point. I enjoyed the rest of the run, picked up the pace a bit, ran for 3:35:00 and felt awesome at the end. As it turned out I ran 35k at a overall pace of slightly over 6 minute Ks. This evening I am definitely feeling better than the past long runs and I am looking forward to next weekend's half marathon 'practice' race gearing up for the marathon in 3 weeks. I have really enjoyed these long runs, way more than I ever thought I would. Even the cold days! But days like today are definitely better! Dave

Ya, we are lucky to get out there, and this time of year is just the best. The 'fell' in the air of the busier running areas is definately upbeat, more smiles & waves....less grumpiness And as for the long runs...I think I may actually miss them!