A great time in AZ

For those of you following that don't live in Arizona, you should know that as of last week, summer has finally 'turned off' and the temperatures are hovering around 80 pretty consistently. It really is a fantastic place to be this time of year. Close to what Arizonans call chilly. Laugh if you want but after 3.5 months of 110+ temperatures, 75 feels cool. In fact today was the first day the kids wore jeans and long-sleeved shirts to school.

This last week has seen a slight shift in training given the change in temperatures as well as my glorious rebound from a sinus infection that plagued me last week. For the past 4 months, long-runs were done in the morning well before the sun had come up - and even then, by the time you were done, the temperature bordered on 90+. Between now and race-day, all runs will be done in the afternoon under the warm and glorious Arizona sun. I'll leave the swimming for the early mornings...

Though last week looked pretty dark relative to the time left until race-day, I have successfully pulled out of the funk and focused on the quality of my workouts rather than the volume...I have to say, damn I feel good.

I was supposed to hit my long-run this morning but guess what? It was raining. Hard. I resolved to find time during the day to get in my 2 hours of running. I managed to break free of the desk around 11:30 knowing there were calls pending back at the office around 1. Although I accepted the fact that I would not get in a 2-hour run, I resolved to sacrifice the distance for speed.

I'll be the first to tell you - this is not my race pace. In fact, not even close. But again, quality not quantity right? I ran a solid hour at a pace that was challenging but not drop-dead hard. Check it out. It even felt like I was flying around the neighborhood. I can only imagine what Ryan Hall feels like running a 5-minute mile.

I'm looking forward to amping up my mileage on the bike this weekend. I may even throw in a short run after the bike just to make up for the distance lost today. The way I feel right now, I could take on the world.

Look out. I'm back. Ironman Arizona is going to be glorious.