Philadelphia is in the midst of a great stretch of weather. Nearly every day in the past two weeks has been 65-75 degrees, full sun, light winds, and low humidity. Perfect for running and I think I'm becoming spoiled.

I was out for 6 miles with Heather of Monday afternoon. When I run with Heather I tend to accidentally push the pace and she has to keep slowing me down. I have gotten good at staying about 1/2 step behind and letting her lead the speed. On Monday, she was the one pushing and I was the one holding on. My legs were tired after a fairly hard weekend and apparently Heather was feeling good. We did few miles at around 7:00 pace and although my legs were protesting I wasn't about to let her know so I just kept it up. 6 miles in 46 minutes

Wednesday afternoon, my class was cancelled and I took advantage of the evening off with a hard mountain bike ride. The exciting thing about this riding is that I see improvement every time I am out there. The hills get a little easier and I find myself making it over a log or two that had me dismounting in the past.

I took the trails all the way down to my old block, Sumac Street, and rode past my old house. The new owner, true his word, has gutted the entire building and is now building a rooftop deck, four stories up. The house sits atop a big hill and the views are going to be spectacular, I am a little jealous. 18 miles in 90 minutes.

I was lacking motivation Thursday night and picked up the new edition of runners world. To me, most of this magazine is filled with a lot of fluff. I guess there are plenty of tips for new runners but it doesn't really cater to people who have a little more experience. There are sometimes good articles about past races, or specific individuals. Amby Burfoot, a writer for the magazine, had an article recounting the race to his Boston Marathon win and the training leading up to it. This definitely motivates and got me out the door.

A trip on the trails up to Northwestern Avenue and then Forbidden drive back down to Valley Green. A quick stop at the water fountain and then I turned around to head back up to Rex Hill and the park exit. I have started timing my trips up Rex, which is almost exactly 0.5 miles long. Last night was 4:20, so I guess that is the time to beat right now, but I was tired and wasn't pushing so I don't think it will be to hard. A conservative 7 miles in 54 minutes.