Fri 5/28 - off

Directly from work to another 7 hour track meet. The end is in sight though...

Thu 5/27 - PM 65 minutes incl. 4(300,200,100)

Leg prep session, a bit of a chore I'm afraid. Looking to run 5k pace, 3k pace, then mile pace as the distance cut down by 100m. Hit the numbers, modest as they were--300s in 55-6, 200s 35-6, 100s in a scintillating 17 seconds. Jog recovery 90+ seconds after each 300, 60+ seconds after the 200s, and 2+ minutes between sets. Thought about doing up to five sets initially but knew after the third one that 4 would be plenty. Cooldown on the grass. Warm but not the disgusting heat and humidity of the past couple of days.

Wed 5/26 - PM 60 minutes easy

Walden woods. Continued hot and humid, obnoxiously so for this time of year. Blizzard of pollen as well, made for a sticky disgusting day to be outside. Took it quite easy throughout, with a couple of breaks here and there. The level of the pond is historically high and it's not going down anytime soon. 3-4 feet higher than last year at this time, filled right to the brim at my preferred stopping points on the eastern shore.

Tue 5/25 - PM 70 minutes incl. 9x1000

Back and forth on the Longfellow loop, one km at a time. Late start to this workout due to the smothering heat and humidity, tried to wait out the worst of it. Still quite warm, mid 80s at the start, low 80s at the end. I knew going in the numbers would be far from impressive, aiming for a consistent effort throughout. First rep was 3:33, all others were within a second of 3:30 +/-. Recovery was a 200 jog, slightly longer break after 3 and 6 to get fluids. Had some doubts about doing all nine during the seventh rep, getting overheated, but stuck it out.

Mon 5/24 - PM 85 minutes

Area 51 via Track Road and Sudbury Road. Started out quite easy today, very gradually the pace increased in the second half of the run. Got home from work feeling utterly exhausted, as expected, and this made an easy start a necessity. By the end felt energetic enough for some pickups on the way in. Warmer today, made the shade of the woods very inviting.

Sun 5/23 - PM 75 minutes easy

Area 51, squeezed in the run before darkness fell. Relaxed putter through the woods, not in any condition to do much more. No undue soreness in hips/adductors from yesterday thankfully. Got in a bike ride in the morning, picking up groceries.

Sat 5/22 - PM 60 minutes incl. 5k in 15:22.7

About as well as I could have hoped for. Obsessing on the underlying tiredness going in to this meet, standing around at yet another kiddies' meet in the morning didn't help any with this. Took a while to get going on the warmup, but gave myself much more time than last week and this helped. Looking to run between 73 and 74 laps, at the outset it was closer to 73 as I hit the first two kms in 3:03 apiece. This got me thinking I could break 15:20 which would have been a massive overachievement, but reality set in soon after that as the next two kms were each in the 3:06 range. Seamless transition from the faster pace to the slower pace. From 500 to about 3400m I was leading into a mild but annoying breeze that swirled somewhat, starting to struggle with the effort that even 75 laps required. Got some help at that point, gathered myself and made a modest rally over the last 600 meters. Last lap around 70, last 200 34. Overcast conditions most of the day, not too warm but sneaky humidity.