Today was an eight mile run which, if you're scoring at home, is very far. It seemed especially so this morning as we took off at about quarter to seven and I was just not mentally "with it". I may just not have been awake, I don't know, but my thoughts consisted pretty much entirely of "oh god, I've only gone three miles" and "geez, it's hot out here." These aren't the thoughts one looks for on a longish run. But, the Wife and I gutted it out and it went alright. We stopped for water a couple of times and took it nice and slow and finished just fine.

Not every run is going to go perfectly. It's like pitching. You are only going to "have it" 25% of the time and it's what you do with the rest of the time that really defines you as a runner.

Regarding those fancy new shoes I got this past week...I like them, but I'm not sure they fit my feet perfectly. I am getting a little bit of pain in the outside of my foot, towards the back, when I start running. It generally seems to go away after the first couple of miles, but I hope I'm not doing myself any actual damage. I don't think so, and otherwise I really like my shoes, so I'm going to stick with them. They are very bouncy and my legs haven't hurt, so on the balance, I think they are good shoes.