14 and 40

As I hit 14 miles for the long run, I top 40 miles per week. Two weeks in a row now. Both long runs in the middle of the brutal heat and humidity, and yes, taking a ridiculous amount of time. Although yesterday, if I factor in the time I took for breaks, once at the park, and once to buy gatorade, it was probably my half-marathon time....so I think I'm finally adjusting. My ipod is set to all the faster downloads, between 175 and 180 beats per minute...and I stick to this throughout in my quest to train my legs to keep a consistent pace. So I would say its working, pretty much. Even if I tank out at different points, I can regroup later, by refocusing myself, and keeping in sync with the music.
Yesterday I played with little mantras and phrases, trying to find what worked best, things like "lean and mean, running machine", "don't slow down", and all that cheesy crap. It's interesting how willingly the body will follow the mind for no good reason, even when the heat is pressing down and your heartrate is up; the wisdom of the body, which is screaming for shade, for rest, for water, is entirely subsumed into the will of the mind...and on I went, cutting thru from the Seminoles up to 72nd, where I looped up to Stirling, and did the longest stretch back all the way to 95! Whew!!
With days off coming up, I will try one more long loop before the weekend, and see if I can top out at 15 or so. Somewhere in Runner's World was the advise that its not so much mileage as time on your feet. So far, 3 hours is the max....and I need to get it up now to 4....I also read about 'compartment syndrome' where the blood in the lower legs has a tough time circulating, which accounts for soreness and tingling in the legs and feet etc....my legs tend to swell during the day, and in running, its always my lower legs and feet that take the pounding. I wonder if this is an issue, and if so, if continuing to tweak at my diet will help....it's been tough to go hardcore on the protein and lower bread/grain carbs without wanting to consume everything in sight. But I have a feeling that the more I rely on fruits and veggies for carbs the better....
I had an amazing dream last night where I had my own dream therapy in assistance for a traumatic image that has been stuck in my head from a client, for several months now....WILD!! Perhaps with enough miles, all the junk that's gotten stuck in my head will dislodge...and the Dream Masters can have at it.