I am pleased that I have kept a running log over the past couple of years - I actually have two, one is the Runkeeper App which records details when I actually am using Runkeeper ( which is not every run) - the other is a Microsoft Excel spread sheet which records everything I do running wise - including heart rates and "feelings".
When I look back at this exact same time last year ( it was also starting to get HOT) , I can see that my running times for easy runs were maybe a little bit slower than I am currently doing. Easy runs of course are meant to be that - easy -- and their pace can vary. I guess I am a bit disappointed that my easy runs are still as "hard" as they have always been . I HAVE had a good year though - with a sub-30 minute parkrun ( don't really know how I did that - right now I am struggling at 40 minutes!! ) and a HM completed.
I have been reading this book amazon.com/Heart-Rate-Train... - he has a 6 week programme (for beginners) - mostly easy running - which I think I can do for the next 6 weeks (using run/walk) until we do this 6 week cruise. I am quite looking forward to using the treadmill on board the ship as I did for a couple of weeks last year. Treadmills are quite good for heart rate training based programmes.