Thousands of miles (or kilometres, if you prefer)

At the beginning of the month I sent P and Evan down to the beach house without us. The plan was that Olivia would not be coming this year and I would be coming mid month for ten days. I have to admit that I spent the first week sort of delirious from the freedom to do whatever I wanted (almost). More relaxed meal timing, no scrambling to get a babysitter for workouts, no having to think of something for the kids to do all day. I went biking and running and swimming every single day just because I could. I bought a new book to read, I left the house alone for a week and then I cleaned it really well. I cleaned my closet out. I went to the movies with Olivia. Don't laugh, I haven't been to a movie theatre in almost two years. On day five I really really started missing "the boys". I found a way to go see them for the weekend, not an easy feat since they're 800 kms away. It involved driving with my brother in law and his friend by night (we left at 10.00 pm and arrived at 6.00 am) and then taking an eight hour train back to Modena four days later. This was all made possible by the fantastic Linda, who I adore. She spent the nights with Olivia over the weekend and tried to entertain her in some way. Tomorrow I go back on the train to the beach, this time for ten days. This all sounds involved and complicated but I can assure you that everybody is happier this summer. Me included.

This morning Linda and I went running. We started out at 8.00 am but it was already too too hot. Today got almost up to 95° so it must have been about 85° when we were halfway through the workout...which was:

3 x (20 min run + 1km fast)

The first km I just ran at what I felt was a "moderate" speed without exhausting myself too much. I came in at about 5'40". On the second km I started it out in the same way but this time I tried to concentrate on both my stride rate and length, trying to keep it relaxed. 5'25".
I get into that habit of being "comfortable" and not changing gears. Not that I have to push myself, I just have to remember what I'm doing and pay more attention to it.