Fri 6/20 - PM 60 minutes plus 15 minutes in Walden

Feeling more sore today than yesterday, pace slower as a result. Rolled my right ankle which left the achilles feeling strained and sore afterwards. Strides on the way in but they weren't much to write home about. Overall feeling kind of flat. Despite some fairly strong rain showers just before starting the run, conditions cleared up and it wasn't overly humid.

Thu 6/19 - PM 65 minutes, Area 51

Moving better today than usual for the day after a workout, although wilted somewhat the last 15 minutes which precluded doing any strides. Outstanding conditions, as close to the ideal day as one could hope for at this time of year. Deer flies still not out in force yet in the woods, although it's sure to be soon.

Wed 6/18 - PM 60 minutes incl. 5x1200

First workout completed in two weeks, although I passed on the optional sixth rep. With more rest the past few days a sixth certainly would have been doable. One minute recoveries, pace felt relaxed but the fatigue became noticeable on the last one. Wind also picked up as the workout went along. Splits as follows:

3:50.6
3:50.1
3:49.2
3:50.2
3:50.4

Right hammie remains somewhat sore but manageable. Warm and relatively dry, with the aforementioned breeze.

Tue 6/17 - PM 80 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

to Farrar Pond and back. Feeling much better than yesterday after a decent night's sleep. Other than some soreness in right hammie, legs feeling better than expected. This despite a stumble off a curb when I wasn't looking that tweaked my left hip flexor a bit, but could have been much worse (sprained ankle, etc). Dry and breezy day, nice conditions after the muggies of the last few days.

Mon 6/16 - PM 40 minutes easy

Shakeout following a 2 hour afternoon nap, which was necessitated by one of if not the worst insomniac disaster ever. I foolishly thought that sleep would be possible without taking advil despite all the recent evidence to the contrary. Compounded the error in judgment by not giving in and popping a pill until well past 4 AM and so wound up sleeping about an hour. Somehow made it through the day in one piece. In no condition to do anything but jog slowly, it was a worthwhile exercise regardless. Continued overcast and humid, with rain showers starting up while I was out there.

SUn 6/15 - PM 60 minutes incl. 5k in 15:21

Some difficulty falling asleep due to continued toothache woes, once I finally nodded off so exhausted I slept in until almost noontime. After lunch and errands, woke up from a late afternoon nap about 90 minutes before race time. Still shaking out the cobwebs on the warmup, legs felt ok but feeling flat and tired, not surprisingly. Hoping for a tactical race with a pace I could follow, thankfully this is what happened as the early leaders consistently hit 74-5 second laps. Biding my time in second or third place until 1500 to go, at which point made a move to the front that I hoped would be decisive but it wasn't despite picking up the pace. In hindsight it's hard to say if I should have gone earlier or later, I feel like with better energy levels it would have been a moot point anyway as I could have run closer to 15:10 than 15:20. Kilo splits as follows:

3:06
3:06
3:06
3:02
3:01

Definitely a negative split effort and a tactical race, as such it would have been nice to win the thing but with screwed up sleep patterns this week it was a relief to make it through in one piece. Finished with just a tinge of the feeling that I hadn't been able to fully utilize my fitness due to the less than optimal energy levels going in, despite feeling smooth and relaxed. Humid, but overcast and cool with a modest breeze which made the decision easier to stay tucked in for over half the race. A race effort with all the pieces in place continues to be elusive, which is no surprise. Feeling smooth, relaxed and tired also nothing new, although the cause of the fatigue is different this time. So so sick of the tooth drama.