Escape from the heat.

For those who aren't familiar with the weather in the sunshine state (which should only be a scant 90 percent of humanity) it has been uncharacteristically warm. As in we have had next to zero rain and the usual solar intensity. Combine these two and you get a heat index comperable to the blazing sand plains in Dante's inferno.
Perhaps the heat encourages slight hyperbole- but not much. At 6:00, obviously far from the heat of the day, the heat index was 103. While I understand that it is probably even hotter at other places in America, as my father says, "hot is hot." I was lucky enough to have my television turned onto the local news outlets for other more... sensationalized reporting (I can't lie, "State of Florida v. Casey Anthony" is entertaining- and addicting! It's like a daily fix of crack cocaine). It took five seconds of watching the weather to realize that my normal 6:30 run time would be detremental to my planned 9 miler.
So I did what any "experienced" athlete does. Eat delicious homemade sloppy joes and wait until the mercury dropped to a reasonable temperature. By the time the temperature lowered to a reasonable level, and the sloppy joe's sufficiently digested, it was 10:00. I set out into the stary night and dimly lit street with my usual running partner opting to bike alongside me.
I started out at a moderate pace: 6:45 per mile. By 5k, I was averaging 6:28. The next 5k, I averaged 6:18. The last 2.8, I was flying in a 5:50 pace. I attribute the night and the cool conditions, but this was the best 9 miles I've ever ran. And I still had energy to burn. I can feel myself getting stronger every day, now I just need to put in the work.

The Workout: 9 miles at a challenging yet controlled pace. (6:13 was the final pace).
The Purpose: To experience a large aerobic effort while maintaining control. Building both total strength and "speed endurance"- the ability to maintain a fast tempo for long periods and still have a sense that more could have been called for. (Effort was conversational for 7 miles and each mile was faster than the last).
Quote of the Workout: "Dude, you're really hauling. You're actually making me peddle." - Training Partner to me during mile 8.