Fri 7/16 - PM 60 minutes very easy

a slog in truly oppressive heat and humidity, and no chance of a respite in the pond as I had to get ready to leave for Denver. Puttered around Maynard instead, including a stretch on the patrol road in Area 51 which wasn't as bug-infested as I thought it would be. Might have been too hot for them, or at least too early in the afternoon. Unable to move faster than a crawl, partly from conditions and partly from yesterday's longer effort.

Thu 7/15 - PM 100 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Felt fine other than the now-typical soreness on the ball of my left foot which gets aggravated every time I go off-road. Breezy, somewhat cooler and definitely less humid than it was yesterday, thankfully. Able to keep the pace consistent throughout as a result, and even throw in four 30-40 sec. pickups at the end. Last visit to the pond for a couple of weeks.

Wed 7/14 - PM 60 minutes easy

to and from West Acton center, errand run. Unable to get to the pond as I spent the afternoon in the dentist's chair instead. Out via railbed, back through Mt. Hope. The efforts of the past two days, each a bit more uptempo than expected, and the continued difficulties sleeping in the endless muggies combined to leave me quite flat and tired. Dragging ass throughout, almost but not quite raining so the air couldn't have been more saturated, slogged through.

Tue 7/13 - PM 90 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Started out slow and relaxed today, expecting that to be the pattern throughout. After about 20 minutes the pace picked up somewhat and I was able to maintain it through most of the rest of the run without feeling overly fatigued by it. Surprising the degree to which the cobwebs cleared as I was feeling quite tired during the day. Overcast and spitting rain by the end, still on the warm side of course.

Mon 7/12 - PM 75 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Feeling some effects of yesterday's long run, mainly stiffness and soreness in the left ankle and some tenderness on the ball of my left foot from stepping on rocks. That appears to be a chronic issue for the time being. Continued mugginess but with gusty winds all afternoon.

Sun 7/11 - AM 2:15 plus 20 minutes in Walden

No idea what to expect for this long run after yesterday's swing and a miss. Trepidation not helped any by my inability to get as early a start as I would have liked, due of course to not being able to pry myself out of bed until 8:30. Decided to give it a go and take it as easy as necessary. Also spent the first half of the run on the flats of GMNWR and Concord center which helped. The dew point was down just a bit too which didn't hurt. In the end, got through the run with a surprising lack of fatigue given the length. Focus was there the entire way, even able to bear down in the last 30 minutes, although any pace increases were less pronounced than what I might have imagined. After 90+ minutes of running this tends to be the case. Finished feeling tired but not utterly depleted.

Sat 7/10 - AM 45 minutes

Failed attempt at a threshold run on the Longfellow loop, stopped after 2k at 6:10 pace. No energy, no focus. In fact there was nothing in the past 2 weeks' training (lackluster to say the least) to suggest that this would go any differently than it did. Heat and humidity remain oppressive, already getting obnoxious even though I started as early as I could, but it's more than that. Feeling so tired of late, just not sleeping enough. In part due to the gd humidity of course. Didn't realize how deep the hole is that I'm currently in but there's no denying it.