Fri 10/2 - PM 65 minutes

Area 51. Leg held up better than yesterday although it took a fair amount of massaging both before setting out and halfway through. Pace varied, overall felt a little forced. Feeling quite tired again by late afternoon, getting home from work in need of a nap. Not a great pattern to be stuck in. Gloomy overcast continues, although five degrees warmer and little wind today which was enough to ditch the long sleeves and pants.

Thu 10/1 - PM 65 minutes

Pratt's Brook to Mt. Hope, back via railbed. Adductor stuck pretty much the whole time, no fun. Loosened up a bit after the requisite massage break at 40 minutes or so, but only some serious post-run compressions on the area gave any real relief. Square zero starting to look better and better, to be honest. Continued overcast and cool, fairly gloomy conditions in fact. Long sleeves and pants again.

Wed 9/30 - PM 85 minutes

Track Road to Area 51 via Sudbury Road. Tired by the time afternoon rolled around, that pattern continues. Adductor inflamed and sore from yesterday, not pleasant for the first 45 minutes. Took a massage break at that point, the rest of the run was better after that. Much cooler and overcast today, first run in long sleeves and pants.

Tue 9/29 - PM 50 minutes

Area 51 to Old Marlboro. Got a very late start thanks to waiting all afternoon while the car was getting fixed. And then getting hit over the head with an enormous bill for it. Ugh. Ended up running in the dark, felt quite smooth at first but an increase in pace brought out some stiffness in the adductor and hip. Did a few strides towards the end, not the best idea in all likelihood. Spent some quality time afterwards putting direct pressure on the highest attachment of the adductor magnus, where it was most knotted up. The beat goes on. Somewhat humid, neither warm nor cold.

Mon 9/28 - PM 90 minutes

Walden woods. Started out feeling pretty good, both with the leg and overall energy levels. As a result, the pace was quicker than it has been at the outset of runs of this length. As things went along though, the difference between a run in Area 51 and running on these trails became readily apparent. Nothing I didn't know before, the footing is more uneven and the terrain more rolling, but it was enough to cause a noticeable wilting just before the hour mark. The footing in particular made it hard on the adductor. Dragging at times the last 30 minutes, but rallied somewhat once I got back on pavement for the final stretch. Need to go easier tomorrow. Mild and sunny all day at work, clouds rolled in by late afternoon though and it was faintly sticky out by the time I got started.

Sun 9/27 - double, 1:45 total

AM - 60 minutes, Area 51. After yesterday, I thought seriously about going back to square zero and taking two (or more) weeks completely off from running. In the end I'm not sure it would definitively resolve the lingering leg issues. Also consulted the trusty self-massage for runners manual and got a better handle on what spots I should be focusing on with direct pressure. Found one of them for sure last night, released a particularly tight and tender spot left over from the attempt to race. The run this morning started slowly and stiffly but within five minutes I was feeling the same as the runs mid-week, only mild soreness. Picked up the pace until becoming too tired to maintain it, which happened around 40 minutes. Finished up feeling almost as good as the end of Wednesday's run. Damp and cool, just missed the rain showers before and after the run.

PM - 45 minutes incl. 8 low key strides on the track. Picked up where the morning run ended, little stiffness at the start of the run. Adductor no more or less inflamed and tight than it has been lately. Strides a bit awkward at first but not as heavy-legged as I was expecting.

Sat 9/26 - AM 35 minutes incl. DNF

Repeat performance at Applefest not to be. I thought I could at least get through the race but the adductor wasn't having any of it. Warmup was carefully timed and planned to work out the inevitable morning kinks, and the leg felt decent enough on the line. However once we started, on the first of many downhill stretches, it was painful and awkward right away. Not much better on flats. The layout of the course forced an early decision on whether to stick it out or not, but it was a no-brainer. Already going backwards through the field, no reason to continue. Adductor inflamed and sore afterwards. Disappointing to say the least as it really did feel like the leg was getting better this week. Feels better when jogging is more like it, running relatively fast is something else entirely. Even if the leg had held up, feeling flat and low on energy. I had figured this might occur having not slept enough during the week leading up to today. All this on top of not being fit would have made for an unhappy time, I'm simply not able to run a long race right now. Long being more than 4 miles or so.