Sat 8/30 - PM 1:40, Winchester TV tower

One more crack at the hilly back roads of Winchester before summer ends. Instead of futzing around Northfield at the start I did the first couple of miles on the flats of rt. 63 and So. Parrish road. Then up South Schofield Mtn, shorter climb from this direction than I remembered, the descent to Ashuelot was fairly brutal with the extremely steep downhill stretches. Then up and over Burt Hill, legs getting rubbery but still smooth. Started moving a bit quicker on the flatter parts of Staddle Hill road and the final climb up Bolton road went as well as I could hope. Not that hot out but very humid, drenched for most of the run. Tooth woes returned yet again last night, it's looking like one of the wisdom teeth slated for removal may be abscessing. Made for a difficult night sleep-wise, and the advil party starts up, again.

Fri 8/29 - PM 95 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Took it very easy from the start today, active recovery was definitely on the schedule given yesterday's effort and the resultant late bedtime. Ran around Farrar Pond, I thought early on that I was going too slow to do that particular loop but in the end it was within 10 minutes or so of what I would run if I were feeling more spry. No pounding to speak of as the pace was so slow from barely lifting my legs. Some achy spots in my legs which I was expecting. Somewhat humid but not very hot. I'd be remiss if I didn't note that toads were all over the trails, heard them scurrying about when I didn't see them. Something I don't remember from this time of year in the past.

Thu 8/28 - PM 60 minutes incl. 5k in 15:41

Squeezed in another road race for the express purpose of winning either $ or shoes, as it turns out it was the former. The quaint seaside location was also a draw. The quotes in this recap hint at the rollercoaster nature of this course, nothing incredibly steep but a lot of up and down, including a bombs away downhill start that allowed the requisite 9 year old kids on the front of the line to keep up longer than usual. Felt fairly lousy on the warmup, with legs somewhat sore. Found myself leading right away, not by choice really but the pace needed to be at a certain level to get rid of all pretenders. This left one guy who gave me a steady stream of positive feedback and encouragement. This was quite unnerving as I had no idea who he was and I had the distinct impression he was sitting on me and waiting for the right moment to leave me in the dust. Got to the final uphill stretch before the 3 mile mark and knew I had to make my move there, as I had stretched him out on every uphill on the course prior to that. This turned out to be enough to secure the win. Mile splits of 4:57, 5:06, and 5:07 or so. Cooldown was a very easy 20 minutes. Excellent conditions again, warm dry with a cooling breeze off the water.

Wed 8/27 - PM 65 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Flat and tired from the get-go today, cut back on the length of the run as a result. I was able to do 8 strides on the slope of the CCHS driveway, but they were very much controlled efforts, and relatively short as well. Actually felt better doing the strides than during most of the run that preceded them. Right leg not bothering me today like it was yesterday, but left popliteal area was sore, feels like I strained it. Another excellent day to be outside.

Tue 8/26 - PM 95 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Probably should have run easier today, tired and legs more sore than I would have hoped from yesterday. Right hip and hammie tweaked, felt it right at the start in the TFL area, loosened up after that but still bugging me off and on during the run and afterwards. Moving gingerly as a result on downhill stretches. All this left me in a cranky mood despite the fantastic conditions, sunny warm and dry. Exhausted by dinnertime.

Mon 8/25 - PM 80 minutes incl. 2(4x1000)

First repetition workout in a while, emphasis will be on threshold pace with short recoveries. 20+ minute warmup segueing directly into the first rep, which was on the pokey side as a result. Not that the rest of them were much faster:

3:26
3:24.6
3:24.5
3:24.6

5R

3:24.5
3:24.6
3:22.1
3:16.1

the recoveries between each rep were all a 200 jog in just under a minute. Under control and smooth if not especially energetic. Still heavy-legged like yesterday, and some stomach issues cropped up during the sixth rep as well. Picked it up just a bit on the penultimate rep w/o meaning to, then picked it up some more the last one quite on purpose. Stickier conditions today than the past few days, with a persistent breeze as well. All told the effort was what I was looking for, solid if not spectacular.

Sun 8/24 - double, 85 minutes total plus 20 minutes in Walden

AM - 35 minutes very easy shakeout. Somewhat stiff-legged from yesterday's longer effort, so just puttering. Legs a bit clunky.

PM - 50 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden. Took almost half an hour to feel smooth and get the pace moving, once again legs feeling heavy at the outset like in the morning. Warm enough that the dip in the pond was welcome relief. The onset of twilight is now early enough that it coincides with my usual stretching time post-run, rendered impossible with the mosquitoes. A bummer for sure, I have to wait until getting home to do it which is a hassle.

Sat 8/23 - PM 1:50, GMNWR and Walden woods

A relaxed long run, starting out on the flats of GMNWR for the first 45 minutes was definitely the way to go as it made for an easier start and I was able to take a break for fluids as well before heading into the woods for the last hour. Pace was gentle at first, took a while to get going but eventually moving fairly well and felt smooth throughout. Warm today again, still dry as well. Waited until fairly late in the afternoon/early evening to start to avoid the sun somewhat. No time for aquajogging but I did take a quick dip in the pond on the way in of course.