Notes
Decided to push the envelope for day 60 of my running streak. Just like my 8-mile run from a few weeks ago, I once again found the current limit my heel and Achilles is able to tolerate. I started feeling the pain at about 8 miles. I know from experience now not to worry about it. I'll back my long run down next week and gradually build back up, going beyond 9 miles in a few weeks, finding the new limit, backing down again, building back up, etc.
I did, however, get a bit carried away with my pace. This should have been about 9:00 pace, so I was over :30 seconds/mile too fast. My last 4 miles were 8:16, 8:13, 8:07, 8:06. I know my fitness has improved, so my pace will follow, but I'd still prefer to keep my long run pace closer to my easy pace rather than my tempo pace. That said, this was a good run. It's nice to be running as many miles in a single run that I ran in an entire week only a few months ago.
Oh, and a show of hands if you've ever eaten reheated pizza, steamed spinach and had a cup of black tea all while taking a post-run ice bath. It was quite delightful, I must say...