Fri 4/10 - PM 90 minutes

Walden woods, relatively exhausting run that went a bit longer than expected. The uneven footing and rolling terrain put the adductor to the test, it felt like garbage the first half hour until I took a planned break and did some work on the area, esp. cross fiber friction on on the belly of various muscles in the area that felt like undercooked spaghetti at the bottom of the pan. Much much better after that, even able to do four strides on the way in. It's possible the worst of it is finally behind me. I hope. Weather rapidly cooling off and clouding over after another warm and pleasant day, with spitting rain showers by the end.

Thu 4/9 - PM 70 minutes

Track Road to Area 51. Another case of discretion trumping valor, like last Thursday. Although I continue to wonder if running at all exacerbates the adductor mess further or if it's just the fast stuff. It did feel better today generally speaking, esp, in the second half of the run. A nice day for it as well, cool without a lot of wind.

Wed 4/8 - PM 90 minutes

Area 51, of course. Adductor felt stuck all day at work and in fact it was, and bothersome over most of the run. Pace varied but never got to being really fast. Unable to do strides near the end as a result of it, a bummer. Did some work on the area post-run, felt much better after this but I've written that line before in relation to this extremely stubborn issue. Feels like I take a step or two forward before a hard effort wipes out any progress. There's definitely some scar tissue in there that's not broken up by a long shot. Not a bad day for it, cool but the wind died down soon after I started which was a welcome break.

Tue 4/7 - off

I had planned on at least a short run post-HS meet but after 3.5 hours of standing in a wind tunnel I was in no mood to do anything else outside.

Mon 4/6 - PM 60 minutes very easy

Puttering around Area 51 in a miserable cold hard rain. Barely moving thanks to yesterday's effort, made for a totally forgettable experience overall. Right thigh felt like a decent charlie horse all day at work, loosened up some early in the run and got sore near the upper sartorius attachment in the last 15 minutes or so. More direct pressure, and compressions as well, after the run.

Sun 4/5 - PM 90 minutes incl. 10k in 33:50

One and only hard effort of the week, approached with a no small amount of misgiving and apprehension due to the ongoing adductor issues. As it was pointed out to me by the post-race massage therapist, the sartorius is the most affected which makes perfect sense. Felt it the entire day, worst after the race on the very easy cooldown but still able to make a go of it. Course was both scenic and obnoxious, as we turned into a gale-force wind around 1.5 miles and spent the next two miles getting blasted by it. I spent part of this time tucked in behind someone else which felt like a jog. Upon turning out of the wind the course rolled relentlessly uphill for another mile after that. Splits reflect this:

5:13
5:28
5:37
5:42
5:22
5:17

I knew going in I would be running for second place, and given the state of my right thigh I was looking not to overextend myself in doing so. Definitely a tactical effort, played keep away the second half of the race. This required more effort than I would have liked but kept third at bay nonetheless. Sunny and warmer today but the aforementioned onshore wind dominated everything.

Sat 4/4 - AM 85 minutes

Lincoln woods with the kiddies. Started out very easy the first 30 minutes, picked up some the next 30, picked up some more after that. Took a few shots at the title the last 15 minutes, mostly to test the adductor which was stiff at the beginning but got better with time. Still not all there of course, and the faster running puts strain on the area, at both ends. Very windy morning, whitecaps on Walden where the water was as rough as I've ever seen it.