Sat 9/13 - AM 60 minutes, Northfield/Winchester

On my way to Berkshire county, stopped for a run on Birnam/Winchester/Staddle Hill roads. Felt somewhat sluggish mainly due to legs which felt awkward, kind of sore, clunky for lack of a better term. The logistical difficulties of post-run stretching are having their effect in this regard. Not nearly as tired as yesterday's run after a decent night's sleep. Warm and fairly humid morning but decent conditions anyway.

Fri 9/12 - PM 45 minutes, Area 51

Spent the afternoon running errands and found myself less and less energetic the later it got. This held true for the run as well as I ran out of gas despite the short duration. Ran some short strides towards the end which is what really put me in the hole. Outside of left ankle stiff and sore the first 10 minutes or so. Showers throughout the run, overcast and mild all day.

Thu 9/11 - PM 80 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Spent the first half of the run going relatively slowly then the pace picked up from there on out. Hills of any length or pitch were a drag early on, but once I got moving a lot less so. Left ankle and right knee (medial) sore from all the laps yesterday, comes as no surprise. Right foot sore at the base of the third and fourth toes, related to the mysterious foot bump that recently showed up on my instep. Not debilitating, but the area definitely felt scrunched up and tender to every bump underfoot. Cool day like yesterday but sunny, with mild breezes.

Wed 9/10 - PM 80 minutes incl. 4x2k

Found immediately on starting the warmup that there were plenty of kinks left in my legs from Monday's run. Extended the warmup a few extra minutes as a result and kept the pace a bit slower the first km of the first rep. Splits as follows:

6:51.7
6:50.4
6:47
6:41.5

nothing spectacular but it was the effort I was looking for. Under control throughout, the pace dropped the last two reps without any conscious effort to do so except for the final km of the last rep. I had planned on taking a 400m jog between reps but I realized after the first one that I was sufficiently recovered to go again after 200 (i.e. 60 seconds), which is what it was the rest of the way. This worked out well enough for four reps. Had there been a fifth rep as I'm planning for future iterations of this session longer recoveries throughout likely would have been necessary. Cooldown was an easy 20 minutes. Autumnal conditions today in the best possible way, cool and dry with very little breeze, close to perfect for running.

Tue 9/9 - off

After a long day at work punctuated by a visit to the dentist, I got home feeling too tired to do anything. Strides will have to wait for another day, it's been a while for them.

Mon 9/8 - PM 1:45 total plus 12 minutes in Walden

Feeling somewhat better and less flat today, this being the case I aimed to make up for the long(ish) run I missed over the weekend. Rhythm gradually increased over the course of the run, moving fairly well the last 30 minutes. Mixed in some sections on pavement to take a break from the uneven trail surfaces, slipping and stumbling enough as it is in the latter stages as overall fatigue increased. Not originally planning to jump in the water, but it was quite satisfying to do so as it was definitely warm out.

Sun 9/7 - double, 85 minutes total incl. 3.5m road race plus 20 minutes in Walden

PM - Maynard road race, 3.6 miles or so in 18:29. About 30 seconds slower than last year which is about what I expected to be honest. Resting AM pulse still elevated, flatness persists with low energy levels. Plus it was a little warmer than last year, although thankfully the humidity broke overnight after the torrential rains passed through. Alas, my unbeaten streak at this event ended the moment the fastest runner in Maynard (i.e. Jarrod Shoemaker) decided to show up. Without even wanting to, I got sucked out the first mile and hit it in 5:00 which I knew was too fast. Next two miles were 5:06 and 5:18, spent the second half of the race only going hard enough to keep from being caught by the guy in third.

later PM - 25 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden. After running the race in the midday sun I felt the compulsion to get in the pond and it felt pretty damn good to do so. Still warm outside into the early evening hours.

Sat 9/6 - PM 45 minutes, GMNWR

Planned long run cut short, a lot short, due to underlying fatigue. Resting pulse has been elevated at least since Thursday evening. In hindsight I should have backed off one at least one of the days earlier in the week after the toothache-related sleep difficulties two nights in a row. As it was took forever to get going today and once I finally did start, energy levels were negligible. A no-brainer to end things, hope to make up the long run soon. We'll see, need to feel like myself again first. Not helping things today was the atrocious humidity, dewpoint well into the 70s such that when the inevitable rain showers arrived halfway through the run they didn't cool me off.