Fri 10/26 - PM 40 minutes easy

Cut the length of the run short as I was feeling tired and listless. Cut out strides as the left leg, esp. hammie, didn't react as well as I would have hoped to yesterday's strides. Other than that, right on schedule for Sunday and beyond. Tiredness continues, sleeping more this week than I have been for the past few, but still not enough.

Thu 10/25 - PM 50+ minutes easy Area 51

Stumbled along the patrol road in the dark w/o headlamp, part of a 40 minute warmup for doing strides on the track in racing flats. Planning on running 200s but there was a game on so I stuck to 150s. Left hip/back/leg complex feels a bit better than it has been recently but still far from what it should be. I did something to my lower back/oblique area and I think it's driving a lot of the problems I've been having with the left leg, on top of the strain suffered running on the hill in the dark. The adhesions return as quickly as I try to massage them away. This made the bulk of the run and the first few strides somewhat uncomfortable, felt better after loosening up. Much cooler night as compared to recent conditions.

Wed 10/24 - PM 60 minutes easy, Area 51

It took a long time to get going this evening, not especially motivated after feeling tired on the drive home from work. Stepped out the door planning on only 45 minutes or so, but stretched it out to an hour once I was able to get rolling. That being a relative term, moving at a slow pace after last night's workout. Some stiffness in legs but range of motion in left hammie is as good as I could hope for. Unseasonable warmth has been replaced by dank overcast with temps in the 50s, on and off showers as well. Not the best weather in the world but better than the muggies.

10/23 - PM 80 minutes incl. 10x Comm Ave hill

A solid effort after feeling flat and tired at work all day. Warmed up very slowly for 20 minutes, with left leg feeling better than in previous days although not 100%. Given the length of the workout it was a no-brainer to start conservatively and hold something back early on. In that vein, I tried to maintain the same level of effort on the botton half of the hill throughout the workout, with any drop in time on later reps to come on the upper reaches. Also a no-brainer to run on the road next to the median "path," saving my legs the beating they would have gotten on the ruts. First rep was the slowest in 1:55, last rep was the fastest in 1:48.5 with #9 at 1:51 and 2-8 all within a second +/- of 1:53. Last four were the fastest which is when the effort became more focused. Continued warmth with disgustingly high humidity and gusty winds which were mostly at my back. Recoveries ranged from 2:32-2:41, i.e. slower than the last time I did reps on this hill. Some twinges in right adductor in the latter stages, but overall legs held up in one piece.

Mon 10/22 - PM just under 80 minutes, Area 51

Much of the run today was a chore, combination of fatigue and continued issues with left leg. Everything is pinched, muscles above iliac crest particularly. Hammie stuck, reduced range of motion. Had to trudge along as a result. As was the case yesterday, some loosening up after about an hour of running, at which point I was able to do six controlled strides on the way in. Many many compressions on the hamstring as well as lower back/iliac crest after the run. Warm weather continues, muggy as well. If I wanted to live in Atlanta I'd move there.

Sun 10/21 - AM just over 90 minutes, Lincoln woods

Started out quite stiff and crotchety, feeling it all up and down left leg. Last night I found some big-time adhesions in my lower back on that side, could be the root cause of the issues lower down or could be caused by them. Some hopeful signs in that the last 30 minutes of the run felt the best, which is another way of saying that it took over half the run to loosen up. What with tib atnerior not feeling as acutely sore as it was a few days ago, I'm hopefully past the worst of it with all this nonsense. Unseasnably warm temps continue, but much drier today which made for a nice day to be outside.

Sat 10/20 - double incl. Lincoln tempo in 24:34

AM - "classic" tempo w/splits of 5:15, 5:27, 5:27, 3:13 and 5:12 (2:44, 2:38). A flat and desultory effort. Woke up tired from a week of not sleeping enough with various sorenesses up and down my left leg. I figured it would be best to run a similar pace to last time we did this course when it was very warm and humid. Not as warm this morning as four weeks ago but the humidity was atrocious. Plans of a relatively relaxed start went out the window as we hit the mailbox in 2:33, way way too fast. The subgroup I ended up with backed off on the hills after that, feeling relaxed but tired. I'd like to think I had the good sense not to push it and respond to various stupid moves that were made, but underlying fatigue removed any choice I had in the matter. 15 second rule went out the window for the last mile, just playing out the string. Better yet, stomach issues became an increasingly pressing problem to the point where the last half mile I was fully clenched and worried more about where I could relieve myself in private after the finish than hitting any kind of pace. Not sure what it was I ate that brought this nonsense about, but it persisted most of the rest of the day.

PM - 40 minutes easy in Area 51. A shakeout before stretching, I had debated the wisdom of a second run after feeling so flat this morning, but after sleeping away most of the afternoon I felt up for it. In hindsight it was worthwhile, loosened up some tight spots on the left leg and got in a good stretch afterwards.