Sat 12/27 - AM 75 minutes

Loop through S. Natick and Dover (I think) with the kids, done far too quick for my tastes especially the morning after a workout. Given that they had worked out yesterday as well, I thought the first few miles would be more relaxed but it wasn't to be. Spent the first half of the run maintaining contact before they inevitably sagged, and then had a front row seat the pace yo-yoed from there on out. Complicating matters further was the rain that started as a drizzle and became a cold hard downpour, making for truly miserable conditions. It reached a point where hammering the pace was understandable--the second half of the run, that is. The early pace still seemed unnecessarily uncomfortable considering I can run their 2 mile PR between 3 and 6 times in a row without stopping. Rain meant that the strides went by the board as well. Right leg a stiff and sore mess after last night, hip flexor twinging and calf tight. Cough is progressing along, hopefully on its last legs.

Fri 12/26 - PM RLTAC 80 minutes incl. 1600, 8x400, 1600

Splitting the difference between a shorter faster session and a longer more controlled workout. Looking to run the 400s at around 5k pace, saving something for the final 1600 all the while. Also trying to run negative splits as much as possible. Splits as follows:

5:06 (2:36/2:30)
73
72
73.8
71.6
71.7
70.9
72.2
71.1
5:00 (2:36/2:24)

Overall a controlled effort, hit the numbers without getting overly fatigued. I had hoped for more gear changes on the final 1600, as it turns out there was one--from 39 second laps the first 800 to 36 second laps the final 800. Still coughing more than I would like, cough is productive but obnoxiously persistent. Right leg was somewhat stiff on the warmup, but loosened up fine once I did the drills.

Thu 12/25 - AM 80 minutes easy

River Street to Red Acre Road, back via Summerhill and Levittown. Another recovery run, not much in the tank. Right quad tendinitis that's been around since after the half in Manchester has flared up somewhat recently, esp. sore in the mornings so I was shuffling along early today. Colder today than yesterday, still warmer than average though, winds very gusty which was obnoxious.

Wed 12/24 - PM 85 minutes easy

Longfellow loop with side excursion into McMansionville, back via Silver Hill and Mossman. After starting off too ambitiously, spent most of the run puttering along in recovery mode in what ended up being a slog. Legs feeling it from yesterday's run in the slushy conditions, as well as coming off the sore throat. Warmer with rain showers, snow pack wasting away at a tremendous rate.

Tue 12/23 - PM 60 minutes

An hour of running laps around Elm Bank with the kiddies. Some slippery slushy footing but overall it was about as good as one could hope for, and one of the safer places to run in thearea. Started out quite slowly, pace picked up moderately in the middle as I followed the girls on their pace pickups, then picked it up more for an 8 minute pull with the boys. 15 minutes easy jog after that. Worst of the sore throat is behind me, moved on to the congestion/productive cough stage. At least I'll be able to sllep again, energy level is returning to normal.

Mon 12/22 - PM RLTAC 50 minutes incl. 2x1200

Aborted attempt at a workout, one I never should have tried in the first place. Exhausted from two terrible nights of no sleep thanks to the sore throat, particularly miserable last night as I was extremely tired. Ran 3:49 and 3:53 with a minute recovery, far too much effort for that pace. Got 100m into the third rep before it finally sunk in I was doing more harm than good in continuing. Desperately in need of a decent night's sleep right now. The mini-meet is in all likelihood off the table now, we'll see.

Sun 12/21 - double, 75 minutes total on treadmill

AM - 30 minutes, 4 miles. Half of yesterday's run. Took a while to get going this morning, dry scratchy throat prevented me from getting anything resembling a decent night's sleep. Snow has returned and roads are unusable.

PM - 45 minutes, 6 miles. Instead of the usual progression I started at 8 mph, went to 8.1 after a couple minutes, then down to 7.9, up to 8.2, etc. This managed to keep my interest. This run was sandwiched between the third and fourth round of shoveling the driveway, running out of space to put the shit at this point.