12 miles in 1:22:50, 6:54/mi, HR 163. 2 mile warmup in 16:00, 8:00/mi, HR 146. 8 miles Steady State in 6:46 (up), 6:59 (up), 7:03 (up), 6:59 (up), 5:56 (down), 6:00 (down), 6:00 (down), 6:00 (down). 2 mile cooldown in 15:08, 7:34/mi, HR 152. Didn't get as much sleep last night as I wanted to so I was afraid today would be tough. Rainy and warm (42F) but the roads were a bit clearer today. Kept the warmup very easy. When I found myself sub-7 for the first mile, I thought I'd gone out too hard, but I kept focusing on positive thoughts, good form/running tall, and deep belly breathing. When the second mile passed in around 7 min, I knew I was having a good run and just wanted to keep the effort even so I didn't die the last couple of miles. When the first downhill mile went by sub-6, I knew this was my best Steady State run ever. The last couple of miles were a bit tough and I started to feel like I was fading on the homestretch, but I'm very happy about this run. Unfortunately, the cooldown was another story. 1/2 mile from the end, I started getting "need a bathroom" cramps, and instead of the usual 2-3 mile grace period, today was an emergency with nowhere to go. No idea why....none of the food I ate this morning should've caused this problem (i.e. no lactate). No need more any more details here...
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