Sat 9/27 - AM 80+ minutes incl. 2x4.5 miles

My original plan was to do the double tempo in Lincoln then head to Western Mass., but then I saw there was a hilly 4.5m race that was on the way. Got there and realized that this out and back course was tougher than expected and likely tougher than the Lincoln course. the first 1.5 miles were almost all uphill, then rolling up some more before heading back down to the finish. Splits as follows, first loop on the left, second go-round (i.e. the race) on the right:

6:19 - 5:35
5:53 - 5:14 (short)
6:15 - 5:55 (long)
5:36 - 5:12
2:57 - 2:33

27:00 - 24:29

I was planning on doing 5:45-50 pace for the first loop, tempered those expectations a bit after seeing the course. Then I saw the mile split and couldn't believe how slow the time was. Truly the time didn't match the effort, at all. Assumed a poorly-measured course and soldiered on, not that the numbers improved much. Got it over with and waited 15 minutes for the race to start, I was hoping for a break closer to 10 but didn't want to get caught to close to start time in case they did actually start on time, which of course they didn't. Felt much less sluggish the second time around, managed 30 sec/mile faster without killing myself completely which was the point of the exercise. Had some sore spots esp. right hammie after yesterday's run, as expected. It seemed the first loop, slog that it was, helped loosen things up considerably. Continued rain today, not as torrential as it was yesterday but no less annoying as it started right up in mid-morning after taking the overnight hours off.

Fri 9/26 - PM 95 minutes, Walden woods

Ran during the all-day gullywasher, spigot was turned on mid-morning and didn't let up after that. Felt much better than yesterday and moving more quickly as a result. Did strides on the way in which is not always a given with a run of this duration. After a large late lunch, I waited as long as possible before getting started but it still wasn't time enough to fully digest the meal, a mild annoyance. Temps not a whole lot different from what they've been of late but of course the humidity at 100%, this made for a warmer feel. I was sorely tempted to go in the pond near the end, stood in waist-deep for a few moments and the water felt quite balmy, but the light was fading fast by that point.

Thu 9/25 - PM 70 minutes, Area 51

Right hammie felt off all day at work, weak and sore from yesterday, so the planned run in the hillier terrain of Walden woods was scrapped for the flatter Track Rd. and Area 51 which are more forgiving. Moving pretty well all things considered, not the crawl that Monday's run was but still the stiff sore legs kept a damper on things. Last in the string of cool clear days as the conditions are about to turn abysmal. This will likely ruin my plans for the weekend, alas.

Wed 9/24 - 80 minutes incl. 3x3k

Longest rep session so far. I had secret aspirations of doing 4 reps instead of 3 but I wasn't feeling up to it after feeling a bit creaky and tired during the warmup, so fell back to the original 3. Fell into the groove right away nonetheless. Recovery between reps was a 400m jog, i.e. 2 minutes.

10:05.9
10:04.8
9:53.7

The second rep started a second or two slower than the first one, picked it up a tiny bit and that was enough to get back on track. Rubbery legs towards the end of the final rep as I did it too fast quite frankly, caught up in last rep heroics. In hindsight I might have been able to pull off 4 reps if I'd done them a few seconds slower given how much quicker the last one went. Similar to last week, conditions were very favorable, cool and dry with barely a hint of breeze.

Tue 9/23 - PM 70 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Feeling better today than yesterday, as expected. Back in the pond for the first time in what seems like a long while although it's actually been just over a week. Sunny but cool all day, water felt cooler as well. Strides on the way in.

Mon 9/22 - PM 95 minutes easy/very easy

Much of today's run was in Acton, Pratt's Brook to Great Hill over to Mt. Hope in roundabout fashion. There was also a lengthy stop in the middle of the run at 10 Spencer. I started with the plan of doing a long run in the neighborhood of 2 hours but realized after about 35 minutes that unlike last Monday, the energy levels weren't there for it. Gave up on any pretense of progressing the pace at this point and took it easy the rest of the way. Felt a bit better after the break but still not moving much beyond a jog at any point. Some soreness in right hammie. Gloomy overcast and clammy most of the day, skies cleared just as I got started but by the end it was downright chilly.

Sun 9/21 - AM 90 minutes incl. 10k road race in 33:19

One race too many for this month, but I couldn't resist another chance to run in Gloucester. Warmup was a little shorter than I would have liked, first mile felt great and well within myself but by about 2.5 I realized I had bitten off more than I could chew. Dropped from the lead pack soon after and spent the rest of the way in no-man's land. Course was reasonable, no hills to speak of just a lot of small rollers. The last two miles seemed larger than they actually were. Not sure about the accuracy of the 3 and 4 mile splits:

5:10
5:18
5:08 (short)
5:32 (long)
5:24
5:34

Those last two miles were accurate IMO and they show that I was in get-it-over-with mode. Cool morning, but sunny and warming up as the morning went along, with a sea breeze but no big deal. Cooldown was as long as the warmup was short, 40+ minutes into Rockport. Mildly disappointing result but again, it was one race too many for the month. The swag and splashing around in the waves on Good Harbor beach afterwards made up for it anyway.

Sat 9/20 - PM 55 minutes, Area 51

Moving pretty well throughout today's run, finished it off with strides on the way in. Some mild soreness in calves and right hammie, left ankle was a lot less stiff at the outset than it had been the past two days. Earlier in the week I had planned on doing a double today but feeling very tired last night plus a flurry of errands changed that. Quite cool in the morning, sun eventually warmed things up but it took a while. Dry as a bone.