Fri 12/31 - AM 90 minutes easy

River Road to White Pond via Stow Road and Red Acre, with a set of hill drills near the end. Took the long way around to get to White Pond road for the drills this time. Left hammie still somewhat stuck from yesterday, ankle stiff as well. Sunny and mild conditions, pleasant if unexpected for this time of year.

Thu 12/30 - PM 70 minutes incl 3m in 16:35

Cutdown run on the track at Harvard, mile splits of 5:39, 5:32, and 5:24. I had planned on going a fourth mile at 5:16 but it was obvious by the second mile that wouldn't be happening. Too flat and tired, plus the left hammie was stuck thanks to not stretching after yesterday's run. Ideally this session would have happened Fruday morning but the logistics weren't happening for that. Warmup and cooldown outside this time.

Wed 12/29 - PM 60 minutes very easy

Harvard Stadium along the Charles to Comm Ave, back through the bowels of Allston. Much of the sidewalk along the river was in terrible shape, half-heartedly cleared at best. Both ankles at times sore and stiff during the day, left one on the lateral aspect, right one on the medial side. The faster running left a mark. No real issues during the run which was pokey in the extreme.

Tue 12/28 - PM 70 minutes incl. 2(8x220)

11th hour change in plan, decided to join the crowd for this one. Alternating faster and slower 220s for two miles, done twice with three minutes rest in between. Not strictly speaking a leg prep session but close enough for my purposes. First set the faster laps were almost all between 34 and 35, with the recovery laps averaging around 50. Total time 11:20. Second set the times dropped a bit, overall time 11:13. Slower laps were a mix of running in lane 0, 1, and/or 2. Having not run much at this kind of speed it was somewhat surprising that the pace was doable by and large. Not totally fried at the end, although the effort required was no joke. Left ankle felt stiff to a worrisome degree while warming up, but wasn't an issue while doing the workout itself.

Mon 12/27 - PM 70 minutes easy

Summerhill to Levittown, with hill drills on Rice Road near the end. All side streets packed snow in the aftermath of the storm, which made screw shoes a necessity. Took it easy, not that I had much choice given the poor traction. Didn't think the drills would even be possible but I managed to do them without much slippage. Rice is a good site for doing them. Slept away most of the morning after shoveling before bed last night and shoveling again as soon as I woke up. Snow was gone by midday but gusty high winds stuck around all day.

Sun 12/26 - off

a long time coming I suppose. Spent the morning in the bizarre monument to self-absorbed consumption that is the Gardner museum, then a few errands and by the time I got home the much-anticipated blizzard was getting started. I had zero desire to do even an easy jog in that crap, and even less motivation to run on the treadmill.

Sat 12/25 - PM 70 minutes incl. 8k threshold run

Tiger Drive to Longfellow loop, twice around. Didn't bother timing, tried instead to gauge effort and keep it controlled. Felt pretty good once I got going although the left hammy was stiff and felt weak at the very start of the run. Less problematicat the end of the faster running than it was Thursday but I wasn't on a track and wasn't going as fast. A few icy stretches on the loop but mostly clear. Cold temps but thankfully no wind to speak of.