Fri 7/25 - PM 30 minutes

Squeezed in a run before beginning the travel routine. In hindsight I could have gone a bit further but better safe than sorry. Did six short strides on the way in, awkward at first but got smoother along the way. Hot day but dry, the front finally came through overnight. Next entry will be from the continent.

Thu 7/24 - PM 1:40 plus 20 minutes in Walden

Another rain-soaked romp in the woods. I'm not complaining as the cooler temps (and yesterday's short day) made it possible to stretch out the length of the run. For the first time in a while I got over to the trails on the far side of Bedford Road near rt. 2. Also able to wind up the pace a bit in the final half hour without bonking. Last Walden woods run and pond visit for 10 days. Other than a lone forlorn tourist wandering along the bank, I had the pond completely and utterly to myself.

Wed 7/23 - PM 30 minutes

No time for anything more today as exercise time got squeezed by errands and yet another dentist appt. Making up for years of lost time on that front. Very tired after having a terrific amount of difficulty falling asleep last night with preparations for the upcoming trip weighing on the mind. As such feeling a bit stiff.

Tue 7/22 - PM 90 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Hit my number again today, but changed things up a bit by spending the first hour on the flats of GMNWR. This relieved the strain on the right hammie I was feeling on the rolls yesterday. Legs still got heavy as the run progressed, did strides on the way in and had very little lift left in them at the end. Continued high humidity today but cooler and overcast.

Mon 7/21 - PM 85 mintues plus 20 minutes in Walden

The route each day is different, what with the variety of trails to choose from, and yet the overall time keeps coming out between 80 and 90 minutes. Started relatively slowly today, tired after not sleeping especially well in soupy humidity last night. For the second day in a row got going soon after heavy rains had moved through. Gradually moving better but never to a great extent. Right hammie just sore enough to be a bother, esp. when slipping on roots or rocks which of course happens all the time. With all the rain making footing slippery this was only worse. Deer flies becoming increasingly obnoxious. Quite pooped after getting out of the water. Picked up the pace on Thoreau coming in but it was less than spectacular as the needle was close to empty.

Sun 7/20 - PM 85 minutes plus 20 minute in Walden

Humidity continues to make things very uncomfortable. Temperature a bit lower today but the dewpoint if anything was even higher. I had considered doing an AM run to beat the heat but unable to get out the door after waking up early. Took a morning nap instead. Got started just after the second of two afternoon downpours which cooled things down a bit. Felt very sluggish for the first 30 minutes, gradually felt better and moving a bit smoother after that. The swarms of deer flies kept me from dawdling in the swampier sections. Fatigue returned on the run back from the pond, ran some strides but had to scale back on them a bit to avoid blowing up. The pond is getting warmer, less of a cool relief than it was a few weeks ago.

Sat 7/19 - double, 80 minutes easy total plus 24 minutes in Walden

AM - 40 minutes easy. Got up a bit earlier than usual to avoid the rapidly building heat and humidity.

PM - 40 minutes plus 24 minutes in the pond. Planned on going longer but the weather and general fatigue left me feeling drained from the start. Really horrendous conditions, about as bad as it gets quite frankly. Unhealthy for sensitive groups as the NWS puts it. Speaking of which I was already feeling some airway irritation by the middle of this short run. Like yesterday, the pond was the only good thing about the day's exercise.