A Cool Morning in Bejing-could this really be?

I woke up to a cool morning in Beijing (it had rained the whole night). I could not believe that there is such a thing as not being too uncomfortable running here in August. I did 14k (about 9miles) running loops around the village at about 4:10km/6:35mile pace. Then I went to a mondo (tartan) surface loop and did six laps maraton pace. I have asked four different coaches how long the loop was and I got the following answers: Coach 1: 1000m, Coach 2: 900m, Coach 3: 950m, Coach 4: 925m). Whatever it was, I ran 3:27 per lap and I am guessing it was 5.4k worth of 3:45km/6:00 mile pace. Overall, I ran 22k (about 13.5miles). It was my last longer workout and I am glad I waited a day. I certainly felt a lot better both physically and mentally (I could actually see a mountain in the distance - that's how clear the air was!)

How I so wish it would rain the night before the marathon too. Aleksandar has been looking into the effects of heat on the marathon times. Here is what the prognosis is. Supposing I am at 2:38 shape in conditions comparable to those I had in Houston, Texas, where I qualified (60F/16C or below). That projects the following times at the following temperatures and their marathon time equivalents (based on http://www.runworks.com/):

65F/18C: 2:39:01 marathon (3:46.3 per kilometer, 6:04.2 per mile)
70F/21C: 2:40:08.3 marathon (3:47.9 per kilometer, 6:06.7 per mile)
75F/24C: 2:41:21.5 marathon (3:49.6 per kilometer, 6:09.5 per mile)
80F/27C: 2:42:40.8 marathon (3:51.5 per kilometer, 6:12.5 per mile)
85F/29C: 2:44:06.0 marathon (3:53.5 per kilometer, 6:15.8 per mile)
90F/32C: 2:45:37.3 marathon (3:55.7 per kilometer, 6:19.3 per mile)

I refuse to even look at the temperatues and time equivalents of anything warmer than that. Obviously, other factors such as wind, humidity, course will play a role on the day....

Anyway, this post is probably only interesting to you runners, if at all, so off I go to live some experiences so I can write about them :)))).