Fri 5/21 - PM 50 minutes

Area 51. Feeling a little less flat than yesterday but still the tiredness is a consistent presence. Yesterday's tweaked TFL wasn't nearly as big of a problem today thankfully.

Thu 5/20 - double, 70 minutes total

AM - 35 minutes easy. I had planned on doing a workout this morning, but took three steps out the door and knew it wasn't happening due to right quad stiffness/tightness. It loosened up eventually but still a no-brainer to give it a pass. Feeling less than awake as well.

PM - 35 minutes incl. 4x400 with 200 jog. First 3 at 73.7 each, last one 72.8, all of them likely faster than what I'll be able to run Saturday but we'll see. Tweaked my TFL during the afternoon, worried I wouldn't be able to do any running at any kind of pace. Not as bad as I thought, feels worse jogging than running. Feeling flat, got a late start waiting for the temp to cool off after a warm day.

Wed 5/19 - off

No chance to run, but I did get to drive along the armpit of New England traffic (i.e. the 93/3 split) and stand in a field during the remnants of a late spring nor'easter. Felt some surprising and unwelcome airway soreness, no idea the cause.

Tue 5/18 - 50 minutes incl. 8k threshold run

Quick hitter on the Longfellow loop, didn't want to drag things out today any longer than absolutely necessary. As has become the pattern lately, dead tired when I got home from work. Today's nap was longer and deeper than others recently. Cleared the cobwebs and started down Waltham Street, went right into the threshold run. Splits as follows:

5:54/5:55/2:50
5:42/5:42/2:43

once again, the first lap was a glorified warmup, felt like I was going faster than the watch was saying. Pushed the pace on the second loop since I wouldn't be going any further. Not exactly blazing times but given the lack of rest and rushing into things it'll do. Left leg responded a little better than I expected, stiffened up at work when seated for extended stretches so I was expecting it to lock up immediately after finishing if not towards the end of the run itself. While the iliopsoas was more tender and sore than I would have liked an hour later, the TFL felt light years better than yesterday.

Mon 5/17 - PM 85 minutes

Lincoln woods. Looking forward to this run all day because it's been a while since my last visit to the trails. Right TFL locked up in a vise, tight and sore, which detracted from the experience. Had to slow down the pace and take uphill stretches very easy as a result. Other than that legs feeling fairly good. Nice day, less windy than yesterday and warmer. The water at Walden remains as high as ever, likely to stay that way for some time.

Sun 5/16 - PM 65 minutes easy

Area 51 after a long day spent at yet another kiddies' meet. Hobbled along the first 15-20 minutes on a stiff left leg, it did eventually loosen up though and felt okay at the relatively slow pace I was running. Left side, from lower back to TFL to iliopsoas to adductor, still a mess though. The race left more of a mark than I had originally thought.

Sam 5/15- PM 50 minutes incl. 3k in 8:59

First track race in over a year, considering I wasn't planning on doing any track races this spring as recently as 6 weeks ago I'll take it although the time was quite mediocre. Too much underlying exhaustion from late bedtimes to take the full measure of current fitness, which I had pegged around 8:50. Had a feeling the well would be rather shallow while getting ready. The breeze didn't help any, consistent on the backstretch. Warmup was too short for no other reason than not leaving early enough, only 10 min. jogging and a few of the drills. The early rhythm was around 70/lap which felt surprisingly good, got my hopes up a little. 1k in 2:56. However, I hit the halfway mark and realized that I was going to be running out of gas before the finish. The rest of the way was a barely controlled fade, hit the 1600 in 4:42, 2k in 5:53, 2200 in 6:30 and then the jig was up. No one to run behind on the backstretch the last two laps although I was able to pass at least one person during that time, they were headed out the back door faster than I was. Last two laps went in 74-5 apiece, familiar feeling of not being able to dig deep enough due to underlying tiredness. Recovered quickly from a breathing standpoint after the race, further proof of this. Left adductor/iliopsoas felt fine during and just after the race, but similar to the race itself, reality eventually asserted itself. It stiffened up more and more in the hour after the race and the cooldown ended up being a hobble. Not sure how it will react over the next few days, upkeep will be a point of emphasis.