Thu 9/3 - PM 65 minutes incl. 5k in 16:35

First attempt at a hard effort since last month's nadir at Sandown. As such I approached it with a great deal of trepidation, having to deal with the ongoing right leg issues first and then the lack of any kind of race-specific fitness. Leg felt more stiff than I would have liked during the day at work, did some work on it with the lax ball which helped somewhat but the first 10 minutes of the warmup were still awkward at best. Loosened up eventually, followed the warmup with more direct pressure and this left the area feeling as good as I could hope for leading up to the race. No idea what kind of pace I could hold, hoping for something in the 5:15 range on the rolling course. As it turned out, the field was much less competitive than last year, mostly HS kids, and even running at a slower pace I was duking it out for the win most of the way. Mile splits of 5:13 (mostly down), 5:22 (up/down/flat), and 5:28 (flat then up). Unable to close the deal on one HS kid in training shoes who gapped me in the last 800m. The way the race unfolded I'd say it was an accurate reflection of my current fitness (or lack thereof), I was happy simply to have made it to the line in one piece. The race is an enjoyable affair overall although with the condition I'm in right now I could have done without the bombs away downhill start, 200m or so that we had to cover twice due to the layout. Every downhill was an exercise in awkward jarring in fact. Soon after finishing I could feel things tightening up in the hips and core, to an alarming degree. The cooldown could barely be categorized as running, more like hobbling. Didn't feel quite as bad after 15 minutes or so, and better still after a post-cooldown advil, but at first I could barely move. Can't wait to see how the adductor/oblique/etc. feel tomorrow and the rest of the upcoming weekend. Sunny cool breezy conditions along the water, very similar to last year's race.