Woke Up Late and Felt the Warmth
Knowing I didn't have any plans for the day, I went back to sleep after my body woke at 4am. I didn't have any kids to shuffle off to school or work to get to so if I started my run at 7am rather than 4 am no one would notice. In all likely hood the family would be sleeping when I got back.
This turned out to be a really good idea in more ways than one. Although the morning started nice and cool, as the sun came up, the temperature rose and I needed stay on pace. This scenario is not unlike what seems to happen during my marathons. Things are cool at the start and then the sun comes up around mile 19-20 at which point I'm already running thin and my body doesn't seem to be able to tolerate even the slightest bit of heat. I wilt.
Having a mental marker of what it feels like to stay strong even in this warming situation is will be helpful come November. While most runs are temporarily memorable, some runs, like this one I tuck away to pull out later. I can think back to myself somewhere down the road..."remember that warming 10 miler you did earlier this year. You got this"
I stayed steady for all 10 miles. Still faster than goal pace, but it felt very comfortable and again just a smidge harder than easy effort. I didn't feel like I was out of control at any point during the run.
And yes, the whole family was still sleeping 1 hour and 17 minutes later.