This year in the Great White North runners needn't concern themselves with beating the heat, thus far. I left for my 18-miler at 8:30am, where even in Minneapolis I'd be starting at 7:00 by now. But in Northern Ontario I could have started at 2pm and still run in cool weather. It's so much easier for me to build up the long run distance without the heat being a factor. 50 degrees is an ideal temperature; that way the only challenge is to prepare the legs for the repeated pounding marathon preparation requires.

Some people want a "Rave Run" for their scenery, but in practical terms, a good place to run for me is usually far from spectacular. Today's run was mostly flat, with a few steep hills, half pavement, half gravelly path, uncrowded and included 4 bathroom passes. It made the nearly
2 1/2 hour run feel as effortless as such a run can be. Of course, I'd like to see some other runners out there, but they must go long on Sundays...or at a very early hour.

Today's run concluded a 58-mile week, which also had two light speed sessions. I've still got over 4 months before my marathon in Toronto, but I can feel the improvement in conditioning since my last race. The key for me is not to push the long runs, and to keep the speed work from turning into semi-races.