Notes
I woke up late/didn't set an alarm, so I decided to wait until evening for this one. (Yeah yeah, I know mornings are good for long runs.) Pushed if off pretty late, made sure I was plenty hydrated, got going around 7. All in all, a pretty decent run, especially with non-ideal conditions. It was still pretty warm when I started, and the first 4 were a steady climb, so I kept the pace slow intentionally; 15 is hard as it is, and hills and heat aren't going to do me any favors. But, throughout the run, things naturally felt better and better. After the first 4 miles, there were no big climbs until maybe around 11, with the rest being fairly flat or downhill. Temperature got nicer as the sun went down. The last 11 were just under 7 after a slow first 4 -- good, not super, but definitely not bad for the distance.
So, my longest (intentional) run closes up by far my longest week, just over 80. I'll admit the quality dropped in the miles in the past couple days, though. However, I know I can't expect to jump over 15% higher than my previous best week (which was already higher than ever) and feel 100% fantastic doing it. Plus, temperature played a role too. Still, I don't necessarily think 80 is my magic number... I'll be satisfied with 75-77 from now on for the high weeks. 80 was a mental toughness thing more than anything. We'll play it by ear for the next high week, but for now, recovery!