Fri 5/30 - PM 55 minutes incl. 1600, 4x400

The two nights of toothache-induced insomnia came due today, too tired to finish the planned 1600, 8x400 workout. Very tired by the time afternoon rolled around, spent much of the warmup trying to emerge from post-nap lethargy. That being said, the 1600 was smooth and under control and despite the right hammie not feeling 100% I had it in my legs to run faster. Splits as follows:

4:59 (2:31, 2:28)
6R
71.4
69.6
69.4
69.6
typical 90 second recovieries between 400s

the plan was to start at 71 and get down to 66 or so by the end. I probably could have run 71s all the way through but it quickly became obvious that the extra effort to run 69-mid was taking more out of me than it ordinarily would, and the cumulative effect was such that even getting to 68 pace was a bridge too far. In fact the decision to end after 4 was made about 250m into the rep. Short barefoot cooldown on the grass. Right hammie and IT sore but responding to direct pressure and compressions up near the trochanter. Overcast, kind of humid but not that hot, some NE breeze but not overwhelming.

Thu 5/29 - PM 70 minutes, Walden woods

Moving relatively well today despite some sore spots. Strides on the way in felt smooth and under control. Toothache gone, although dental work is far from over. Warm and sunny conditions, breezy all day but not so much in amongst the trees. First dip of the year in the pond, it was cold.

Wed 5/28 - PM just under 70 minutes, Area 51

Moving well at times despite sore legs from yesterday's workout. Left calf and right hammie/IT band are especially tight. In terms of discomfort level none of these held a candle to the damn toothache that's exploded on me in recent days and kept me up past 3 AM. That started throbbing in earnest about the half hour mark and it hurt to breathe most of the rest of the way. Looking forward to the root canal which will put it to bed. Conditions this evening were spectacular, sunny cool with little to no wind at all.

Tue 5/27 - PM 70 minutes incl. 8x1000

Felt more sluggish than I would like on warmup, right hammie continuing to feel stuck. Got it loosened up somewhat but still not 100 percent. Workout was a bit different, both pace and recovery seeming to fall between typical repeat session (VO2 max pace or whatever it's called) and more of a tempo effort. I thought the desired pace of 76 seemed slow on hearing the workout, as it turns out it was just about right, averaged between 75 and 76. Rest interval of 1:45 was short enough to create some accumulated fatigue but long enough to keep it from getting overwhelming. Hitting the numbers on later reps required more focus to be sure. Splits as follows:

3:09.6
3:06.9
3:06.9
3:09.5
3:10.2
3:08.9
3:08.3
3:09.6

Finished with a barefoot cooldown of 15 minutes or so on the grass, pretty beat by this point. First noticeably warm and humid day of the season. Similar to last Wednesday in that practice started with t-storms, violent gully washers in fact. Once they passed through the humidity lingered and the breeze returned (unlike last Wednesday).

Mon 5/26 - double, 1:35 total

AM -35 minutes easy, Area 51. Took a while to get going this morning. Resting pulse relatively low but still feeling a bit tired. A low key effort to be sure, right hammie still gummed up from Saturday.

PM - 60 minutes, Walden woods. Moving better than the morning but not by a lot. Another long nap today but not as epic as yesterday's. Still noticing the hammie, stopped at 30 minutes to work on it a bit and it felt better after that. Strides on the way in, smoother than expected given how flat the past two days have felt. Windy all day today, sunny in the morning, more overcast by the afternoon.

Sun 5/25 - double, 90 minutes total

AM - 40 minutes easy, Area 51. Some tightness in right hammie but no real issues left over from yesterday's effort. Taking it easy most of the way, but I did choose to do strides on the way in. Sunny and breezy morning.

PM - 50 minutes easy, Area 51. Contrary to the usual pattern, the evening run felt much more sluggish than the morning did. An epic nap during the afternoon doubtless had something to do with this. Just not feeling it at all, went at a lower intensity than planned as a result. Winds died down by early evening, leaving it just about perfect for this time of year.

Sat 5/24 - AM 70 minutes incl. 5m road race in 26:29

A less than spectacular effort on this course but enough to get the win (shoes) and course record ($) I was shooting for. It was a really, really soft record. Mile splits of 5:05, 5:12, 5:17, 5:31, and 5:25 (walk/jogging the last 100 yards, either the 4 mile mark was off or the course as a whole was a bit short). Took over the lead at about 1.5 miles, then wilted arond 3. I had hoped to race for four miles then get a headstart on the cooldown the last mile, but the competition was close enough that I had to keep the effort going until 4.5 before the win felt safe and even then I was worried about time after the slow 4th mile split. Overall the effort expended didn't match the times I was seeing the last 3 miles. Course had some gentle rollers but nothing formidable, there was a gusty breeze that as ever seemed to always be in my face. More of a factor I think was the AM start, evening practices have been going noticeably faster then morning races lately.