Fri 8/31 - PM 85 minutes, Walden woods plus 20 minutes in Walden

Tired at the end of the week, the fog didn't lift for over an hour of the run. Bottomed out at 50+ minutes, barely moving up Pine Hill. Thinking about bagging the aquajogging but the sticky conditions made me go through with it and I felt better afterwards. The requisite five strides on the way in felt pretty good as a result.

Thu 8/30 - PM 65 minutes, Walden woods plus 20 minutes in Walden

Feeling a bit pooped today, like I expected to feel yesterday. Combined with the highest temps of the week, I decided to cut back on the overall time. The pond was welcome respite under these conditions. Strained right hammie at work as well, shouldn't be a huge deal but twinging nonetheless. Five strides on the way in just like the other runs in Concord this week.

Wed 8/29 - 85 minutes, Walden woods plus 24 minutes in Walden

Went around Farrar pond today for the first time in a while, mainly to keep it fresh. Felt about as good as I could hope for the day after a hard effort. Not moving particularly fast, but not the slow crawl that's sometimes necessary, plus legs not noticeably sore. Some soreness in lower abs/psoas area but not as bad as it had been recently. Spent much of the run looking forward to getting in the water, as the afternoon gave way to higher temps than the past few days. Not terribly humid but still warmer than I'd like.

Tue 8/28 - PM 60 minutes incl. Lowell 5k in 15:56

Last one of the summer on this course, mile splits of 5:01, 5:08 and 5:19. Ran the last .1 in a blazing 28 seconds (typically it's just over 30) as I actually sprinted it this time to slip under the magical 16 minute barrier. Went into this effort with diminished expectations after an insomniac episode last night brought on by a whiff of a pesticide-like smell just as I was drifting off to sleep last night. Like they were running mosquito sprayers in the street or something, whatever it was it left me wide awake for hours. 3 hours of sleep before a day at work and no chance to take a nap either with a meeting after that. Feeling predictably flat while warming up, but once the race started I got into a sustainable rhythm and maintained it. As relaxed as any of these Tuesday night races has felt. Didn't feel overextended the third mile like I did last week. Hopefully this is evidence of increased fitness. It may be the shoes. Favorable conditions once again, not as cool as last week but dry and only a mild breeze.

Mon 8/27 - PM 80 minutes, Walden woods plus 20 minutes in Walden

Very stiff and slow to start, legs feeling beat up from the weekend more than I had expected. Eventually came around to feel a bit better but not really rolling along at any point. Had to take care not to overextend myself. Five somewhat deadlegged strides on the way in. Warm, dry day.

Sun 8/26 - AM just under 2 hours

Same general route as two weeks ago, i.e. Pratt's Brook to Great Hill, through Acton Arb and ABRHS, over to Mt. Hope and back via Rockland Ave. First 45 minutes were a slog, after which I started to feel a bit better and things gradually started picking up. This coincided with clouds coming in and cooling things off. A couple of refueling stops between 45 and 90 minutes and after that I made a conscious effort to lengthen my stride and pick up the pace the last 30 minutes. Had I tried a run of this length at this time yesterday it wouldn't have happened, but the overcast and cooler temps helped make it possible. Still somewhat dehydrated but manageable. Good and tired by the end, legs especially. As such I decided to skip the double for today.