10/22 - PM 30 minutes easy

Felt surprisingly good the first five minutes then more of the same vis a vis the hip and adductor. It's a mess, needless to say. Last of the warm days, possibly for the year.

Wed 10/21 - PM 45 minutes

Area 51. Similar to yesterday, although a little less hurt I suppose. More similar to yesterday than I would like though. Sufficiently motivated by the aggravated soreness to revisit my dog-eared copy of "Beating Muscle Injuries for Runners." In need of a refresher on stress points and the protocol for how to deal with them. I've been merely pressing and rubbing on whatever spot feels bad for too long. Another nice day to be outside, qualifying as unseasonably warm.

Tue 10/20 - PM 45 minutes

Walden woods. The scenic surroundings couldn't make up for the obnoxious level of soreness in the right hip. A real bummer as a result. The crazy mountain goat course on Sunday appears to have left more of a mark than I had originally thought. Locus of pain more on the hip flexor/iliac attachment end of things, although the adductor is still not right of course. Finished up feeling thoroughly in the dumps, being hurt sucks.

Mon 10/19 - 50 minutes easy

Area 51. Expecting to feel like hell after the craziness of yesterday's course, got about a five minute grace period at the start of the run and then reality set in. Although everything besides the chronically inflamed and sore adductor/flexor region was actually surprisingly ache-free. However, the stiffness in the right hip made anything faster than a putter impossible and things got dreary quite quickly. Did a fair amount of compressions and direct pressure afterward, felt better after that but that's been the case in the past as well with no real improvement seen in the long term. The weekend's nasty weather cleared out entirely, temps seasonable for a change.

Sun 10/18 - AM 80 minutes incl. 4m trail race

Another in the "picking the scab" racing tour. Also the third and final race of my personal series of Gloucester events. This one stood out for having the most difficult and generally insane course of any event I've ever done. I should have known better as the course description mentioned stretches of technical single track. Most of the course certainly fit that bill. I thought it would be like having a race on trails similar to Great Hill but these trails are far twistier and rockier than GH's. After doing the last 3 miles or so as a warmup I downgraded my goals from trying to win to trying not to break an ankle. Terrain and footing I wouldn't even run on under normal conditions, much less race. Unending rollercoaster of ups and downs, the billygoat trails seemed to have the steepest sharpest of these. Multiple boardwalk crossings in the first mile as well, which were dangerously slippery with the rain that was falling all morning. I was forced to slow down to a jog because I didn't want to fall off, which was a genuine possibility. Inability to handle the steep rocky descents had me in second place the first half of the race and feeling like I was falling further and further back despite the fact I wasn't breathing that hard. Found myself in the lead after that guy took a wrong turn. Thought he would catch me in short order on the worst descent on the course which came soon after but that didn't happen. Had a moment on that descent where I more or less slid across the top of a rock which doesn't sound bad, except the rock wasn't flat-topped and I had the distinct sense I had dodged a major bullet. Celebrated this by screaming an f-bomb for no one but the guy behind me to hear. Course went steadily uphill most of the way after that and I ended up pulling away. I had no idea of this until the last 400m or so but when I saw that I was in the clear I jogged it in the rest of the way. Certainly the most uninspiring looking finish ever for the dozen or so hardy souls waiting at the line. Snuck in under the 30 minute barrier, time was 2-4 minutes slower than previous winning efforts. Even with decent fitness I can't imagine running this course in 26 minutes due to the "technical" (i.e. batshit crazy) nature of it. Hip held up reasonably well during the race considering the abuse it was getting, as expected it started stiffening up within 3 minutes of finishing. Cooldown was a 25 minute superslow crawl around nearby soccer fields utterly exposed to the gales coming in off the ocean. I could literally walk faster than the speed of this cooldown, but at least I was able to keep going. Unable to do much in the way of stretching directly afterwards, but did do some hands-on work with much more planned for later on.

Sat 10/17 - double, 90 minutes total

AM - 60 minutes easy, Area 51. Easy morning shakeout, pace was quite relaxed the first half of the run. Right hip still bothersome although maybe not so much as the past two days. Not that it matters of course, the whole thing remains a mess. Nor'easter took a break, woke up to mostly sunny skies. Still chilly with an ill wind blowing briskly. Odd to have NE winds and mostly clear conditions at the same time, we're not done with the weather yet.

PM - 30 minutes, Levittown. Mostly frustrating, as the leg was bothersome to some degree throughout. Did two half-assed strides on the way in to see how much more sore it would get, not really that much but the underlying discomfort was a constant unwelcome companion throughout. Got the rolling pin stick out after the run and went to work on the medial aspect of my thigh from hip to knee. That helped somewhat. Overcast rolled back in by mid-afternoon, wind never stopped going all day.