Fri 12/30 - AM 70 minutes easy

Area 51, with hill drills on White Pond road. Tormented by the dry scratchy throat last night which made getting to sleep nearly impossible. Made the run a chore, no energy to speak of. If I had to drag myself to work today I don't know if I would have made it out the door for any kind of run, given how poorly I slept and how late I ended up sleeping in. More problematic was the fact that I reaggravated the left calf on the final drill. Felt relatively minor at first but of course given how bad the original strain was it proceeded to lock up more and more on the jog home and after finishing. Major downer as I thought I had put that particular issue behind me. Throws the participation in tomorrow's mini-meet in doubt, in fact it looks like I'll have to give it a pass now. Gray and dank conditions to boot, all around a shitty day.

Thu 12/29 - off

Occurred to me while slogging through yesterday's run that a zero today would be both logical and humane. Finalizing the decision was the fact that I woke up in the middle of the night with a sore throat, yippee.

Wed 12/28 - PM 80 minutes easy

Area 51. Feeling yesterday's workout more than I would have liked or expected. Didn't sleep well last night which likely had something to do with it. Pace wound down (not up) towards the end, running out of both energy and motivation. Right hammie remains a bit off. Gusty and blustery conditions as the mild moist air was being swept out.

Tue 12/27 - PM 65 minutes incl. 9k progression run

Longfellow Loop. Not at all sure how far I'd be able to go, or should go for that matter. Came down to something in the 8-10k range, ended up splitting the difference. Still feeling an underlying tiredness esp. after yesterday's run. Took it out relaxed as a result, first 800 slower than even I thought. Pace picked up from there, pushed it a bit the second lap, to the edge of uncomfortably sustainable. Still under control throughout though. Splits:

6:04/5:54/2:50
5:50/5:52/2:50
last km 3:35

Not at all impressive numbers but in the broader context of how I've been feeling I'll take it. Mild once again, with rain threatening that had me spooked to be honest. Held off until I was just about done thankfully.

Mon 12/26 - AM 90 minutes

Lincoln woods incl. drills on Pine Hill. Spent much of the first half of the run noticing how much more enjoyable it is running in these woods at any other time of the year besides winter, what with the hard frozen ground and chill breeze. Still better than the usual winter routine of pounding pavement. Ran out of gas soon after doing the drills, reduced to a jog on any non-downhill sections over the last 20 minutes. Half expected this, feeling kind of peaked.

Sun 12/25 - AM 50 minutes easy

Area 51. Taking the path of least resistance for one more day at least. Underdressed for the first time this season, made it fairly miserable. Sunny but cold with a brisk breeze.

Sat 12/24 - AM 80 minutes very easy

Area 51 to White Pond Road/Lower Village, back via Summer St. Took a while to get going this morning, after it took forever to get to sleep last night. Wired from the workout more than I thought I'd be. Easy putter throughout today. Stiff-legged the first few minutes but nothing out of the ordinary. Conditions much more seasonable, i.e. cold and windy.

Fri 12/23 - PM 70 minutes incl. 4x1600, 4x150

Outdoors at Harvard. 5:21.5, 5:19, 5:19.5, 5:19.5 with 300 jog (90 seconds) between each. Indoor facility not available. For this particular workout it was better in all honesty to be outside with fewer turns. Would have been near-perfect conditions with mild temps for this time of year, except for the fact that the session coincided with a colder air mass being ushered in on NW winds that were gaining strength with each passing minute. Ordinarily a loser's lament doing track work outside that it feels windier at the end than the beginning but this evening it was absolutely the case. Getting crushed on the home straight the last two reps in particular. As such the times which look monotonously consistent don't quite reflect the effort level that was required. Also unable to do anything other than try to maintain 80 second laps, no progression to each rep. After finishing the fourth one, jogged two laps and then ran the 150s with the wind at my back, which of course felt great from an effort perspective. Jogged the rest of the way around. Moderate twinging in right psoas but overall legs held up well to the effort. Slowpoke cooldown.

Thu 12/22 - PM 45 minutes

Area 51 to White Pond Rd., hill drills there and then back via Track road. Took a good long while to get going, motivation not exactly at a high point. Feeling a bit peaked after the last two days. Kept the run on the short side as a result. Right hammie stuck which was particularly clear when doing uphill bounding, but felt much better after doing compressions post-run. Warmer conditions prevailed through the day but the wind slacked after sunset and temp dropped a bit as a result. Still warmer than normal.

Wed 12/21 - PM 70 minutes easy

Along the Charles from N. Station to Fresh Pond, cutting through Harvard Sq. near the end. Started out very easy, eventually picked up a little bit from there. Nothing earth-shattering however. Feeling yesterday's workout in the right hammie, not as much the left happily. Wind changed to SW again, with attendant rise in temperature. Downright mild conditions continue to dominate.

Tue 12/20 PM - 65 minutes incl. 3(440-330-220-110)

First indoor track workout of the season. General lack of any work of this type over the past two months left me quite unsure of what to expect. Old standby quasi-leg prep session of 4-3-2-1 with 3-2-1 jog recoveries chosen because I'm sharp as a butter knife right now with not a lot of time to do something about it before the end of next month. After last Tuesday's rather slow 200 reps outside I had no clue what a given pace would feel like, rolled through the first lap of the first 400 in under 35 which was a lot faster than what I wanted. Made for a jelly-legged recovery jog after that rep. I was able to lock into a fairly consistent groove after that though. Tried not to press or force the pace. Felt only moderately unsustainable at worst. Changed into spikes for the last one which made a noticeable difference--in the recovery times, as seen below. Maybe I was just warming up by then. 

70.7(87)/53.4(56)/35.3(28)/17.3 = 5:48
71.3(85)/53(54)/35.3(27)/17.2 = 5:42
70.5(81)/52(51)/35.2(25)/17 = 5:31

A bit under 4 minutes recovery between sets. Legs held up relatively well to it all, although there was a noticeable twinge in the right psoas towards the end of the second set.

Mon 12/19 - PM 65 minutes

Area 51, hill drills on White Pond Road, back via Summerhill. Moving better than yesterday overall, at times had to rein it in to avoid overdoing it. Still feeling tightness in high hamstrings, alleviated somewhat by post-run compressions. Can't help but think it's reducing range of motion, time will tell I suppose. Much warmer than yesterday, after a frigid start to the day.

Sun 12/18 - AM 90 minutes

Out and back to Brues Woods to check on the camera. Not the run I originally had planned but time constraints after sleeping in again left me with little choice. Took a while for legs to loosen up. Sub-freezing temps, coldest so far this season, didn't help any with that. Hamstrings still feeling somewhat tight, did strides on the way in anyway. Feeling more tired afterward than I would ordinarily expect for a run of this duration and intensity, still absorbing the stressors from earlier in the week.

Sat 12/17 - AM 75 minutes easy

Area 51. Started out very easy, legs stiff from yesterday's workout. Eventually range of motion increased somewhat and as a result moved a bit quicker, although at no time did it get beyond a slow jog. Major slugabed morning, took forever to get off my back never mind out the door. Followed that up with an extended nap in the mid afternoon. Not surprising in the least, feeling a bit overextended by the end of the work week. Surprising that I was able to complete the workout yesterday in fact, although doing it by time instead of trying to hit a particular pace helped there. Cooler this morning than yesterday. First run in Area 51 for some time that wasn't in the dark, got a chance to check out the clear cut just off Patrol Road near the town well. Why they did it is anyone's guess.

Fri 12/16 - PM 70 minutes incl. timed pickups

Return of both the Levittown loop and the 10-8-6-4-2-1 minute workout with 5-4-3-2 minute recoveries. I had forgotten how much I enjoy doing this workout. The streets of the warren are a perfect area for it. First three reps felt under control, extended myself a bit more for the shorter ones after that. Right thigh held up okay early on, got fatigued near the end which was no surprise. Had doubts during the day about my ability to do any kind of workout after a less than restful night of sleep. Lately I've been waking up in the wee hours for no reason I can tell and falling back to sleep has been difficult at best. Still on the warm side but with gusty winds. I ended up overdressing again.

Thu 12/15 - PM 45 minutes easy

Area 51 with hill drills on White Pond, back via Summerhill. A chore thanks to feeling more tired than expected plus right leg still not quite there although it felt better than yesterday. Unusual warmth continues, today with rain showers and gusty SW winds all day. Made for a rather dreary experience.

Wed 12/14 - PM 85 minutes easy

Area 51. Dragging the right leg much of the way thanks to the adductor being quite stuck. Did some work on it after 40 minutes or so which helped to a degree. Still definitely feeling it from yesterday. Started out a bit too quick for the type of recovery run I was looking for, felt better after reeling in the pace after the break. Similar conditions to last night only a few degrees warmer. Overall the mild November has given way to a mild December.

Tue 12/13 - PM 60 minutes incl. 15x200, 400

Took a bit of a risk trying to do any kind of track work so soon after Sunday's leg issues. Happily, made it through in one piece, although it became increasingly clear as things progressed that the right adductor is mildly strained right now. Settled on what is fast becoming a comfortably familiar quasi-leg prep session with rotating 300-200-100m recovery jogs between 200 reps. Compared to previous iterations this one was noticeably slower, although it didn't feel that way at the time. Reps went by mostly in the 39-40 range, with the last two sets mostly just under 39. Final 400 in just over 78. 300 jogs avg. 87, 200 jogs avg. 59, 100 jogs avg. 32. Total time 26:10. While the chilly conditions required more clothing this time than the last time I did this just after Labor Day, it was mildly disappointing to see the slower numbers. Especially when the overall time then was just over 24 minutes with noticeably faster recoveries (80-55-28 vs. 87-59-32). Then again given where I was 48 hours ago I'm glad I was able to complete the thing in one piece and feeling relaxed and under control throughout. No wind to speak of.

Mon 12/12 - PM 55 minutes

Area 51 to White Pond Road, hill drills there, then back via Summerhill. After yesterday's dismaying shutdown of the right hammie, this run went as well as I could have hoped. Some stiffness at first in the right adductor but I was able to do the run at a decent pace without the tightness developing. Calf was fine for the drills, after last week's aggravation I think the worst is behind me. Getting back to doing some of the post-run exercises I had let slip will help.

Sun 12/11 - AM 60 minutes incl. 5k road race

Not a good time, literally or figuratively. Feeling fairly spry on the warmup and the first half of the race, under control and not having any undue issues with the calf apart from a tweak when I stepped in a small pothole. However, the larger problem surfaced in the second half of the race as the right high hammie got tighter and tighter. I was planning on cruising it in the last mile once I saw that a gap had been established, however with the leg stiffening up it was more of a forced deceleration (to 6:00 pace from 5:20) than a controlled one. The area stiffened up even more immediately after finishing and made the cooldown a half-limping crawl. I'm doubtful that the damage was done totally during yesterday's run in the woods, as that run was so slow. More of an accumulated thing. The fitness train won't be leaving the station until/unless I get the calf and core issues dealt with. Far more optimistic about the former than the latter right now. Clear conditions, breezy but not overly windy with temps just above average. Overall a nice day to be outside.

Sat 12/10 - AM 90 minutes easy

Walden woods. Feeling tired and flat throughout, never got going. Cut the planned route short, which would have taken 1:45 at least at the pace I found myself running. I had hoped to do some strides on the track towards the end but it just wasn't happening. No stress placed on the calf at least. More frustrating was how locked up both high hammies were. Felt like utter garbage, and the resultant reduced range of motion had an affect on the pace of course. Hopefully just from running on uneven terrain, it's hard to tell though. Temps a bit above average but with enough wind to make it uncomfortable in the open.

Fri 12/9 - PM 55 minutes very easy

Area 51. No issues with the calf today, I was going too slow. The main issue was getting out the door in the first place. I was feeling more tired than I thought I would be. Given it's Friday I suppose I should have known better. Pace petered out towards the end, simply ran out of gas. Wasn't looking to do much more than an easy putter after yesterday's frustrating day but even so, it was damn slow by the end. Milder temps than yesterday, mugginess making a comeback. Left SI joint stiff, rolled on it with the lax ball after the run. Feels like it would the day after an honest to goodness hard session as opposed to yesterday's underwhelming fool's errand.

Thu 12/8 - PM 60 minutes

Failed attempt at some kind of threshold running, thanks to left calf being fried again. Unable to run at any kind of speed faster than a jog w/o aggravating it further than it already is, which became abundantly clear after running 2k on the track at a hardly robust 90 seconds/lap. Called it a day and jogged an easy half hour on the bad wheel after that. In hindsight, this isn't from the recent fool's errand of a race from Sunday, but rather the step-ups, hill drills and finally lunges I've done between now and then. The vulnerable area isn't ready for the stresses inherent in those types of movements. Should have known better but in my defense I've suffered this type of injury so infrequently. Hamstring strains are more up my alley, esp. since it seems I can bounce back from them much sooner. Yesterday's miserable weather replaced by a different kind of miserable, windy vs. rainy. Could have been worse I suppose.

Wed 12/7 - PM 75 minutes easy

Area 51. Rained all day, inescapable and gross. I had delusions of doing a workout today, the weather convinced me not to try but once out there I found that it wouldn't have gone off had I tried. Too flat and legs still too sore. Right adductor stiff and left calf is feeling like I might have aggravated it. The hill drills yesterday were in hindsight premature. All in all a frustrating day, sick of the generally wet weather we've had since I got back from Colorado in late August.

Tue 12/6 - PM 55 minutes easy

Area 51, with a somewhat rushed set of hill drills on White Pond Road. Right leg remains sore, although not so much in the IT band as yesterday. Hip flexor/psoas stubbornly twinging though, did some direct pressure on it after the run and found it to be quite tight. Not as tight as both calves feel though. Length of run somewhat less than what I had originally been shooting for. Spitting rain but still unusually warm out, shorts weather in fact.

Mon 12/5 - PM 75 minutes very easy

Area 51. Painfully slow putter, energy levels low and right leg feeling like garbage. Hip flexor was sore at the start, within fifteen minutes it was more a TFL/IT band thing that got worse if anything over the rest of the run. Shuffling along for most of it as a result. Straight recovery, but a chore nonetheless. Temperatures back up to unseasonably warm, confounding my attempts to dress appropriately.

Sun 12/4 - PM 60 minutes incl. 5k road race

The race went well enough, better than I thought it would, the awards ceremony was another matter. Feeling flat and justifiably concerned about how good an idea it was to have entered this thing in the first place. Not sure how the right leg would hold up to any kind of fast running. Ran the course as a warmup at a fairly quick tempo, feeling lethargic the whole way. All signs pointing to a lackluster performance. Dragged out from the gun, controlled but only barely. Thought at various times in the first half of the race that I would be dropped eventually, esp. as the early leader seemed to make some surges. However, I'm guessing he didn't preview the rolling course beforehand because the second of two gradual climbs in the second mile softened him up sufficiently that I took the lead without trying or wanting to. Decided to maintain the effort level until near the end so as not to blow up, and put my hopes into holding him off with a final sprint. Took a peek with about 300m left and to my surprise I was in the clear. With no small sense of relief, took the foot off the gas pedal and slowpoked it in. Cooldown was a very slow 20 minutes or so around the former hospital grounds.

Sat 12/3 - AM 65 minutes easy

Easy putter through Mine Falls, mostly east of the route 3 underpass. More extensive than I had realized back there. Right leg bothersome pretty much the entire way though which took away from the enjoyment of it some. Reduced range of motion in hip/thigh and soreness in the hammie after yesterday. The post-run foam roller stuff, while good in the long run, left its mark for today. Temps remain somewhat milder than normal for this time of year, the low sun and chilly mornings have been leaving me overdressed on some of these runs.

Fri 12/2 - PM 80 minutes easy

Track Road to Sudbury Road and Area 51 from there. Strongly considered doing 2-3 laps on the Longfellow loop but in hindsight it wouldn't have happened, too flat and tired. A cumulative thing from pushing the pace late in runs the past few days and of course staying up too late. Another long nap upon getting home from work evidence of that. Calf ever so stiff during the day at work but no issue during the run. More annoying was the right hammie and TFL which were both stuck by run's end. Possibly from hill drills yesterday but I didn't notice anything at the time. Quality time with foam roller helped but only so much. Modest comeback of milder temps for the day.

Thu 12/1 - 50 minutes easy

Area 51, with hill drills on White Pond Road. Happily, the calf is at a point where I can do drills on it again without damaging myself unduly. Using the gentler slope of White Pond instead of Pine Hill or Rice Road probably the best thing for now. Right hammie also feeling better than it was a few days ago, no longer pegged as tightly in the uppermost reaches. Got home from work feeling tired but I didn't realize how tired, brief nap turned into an hour and I woke up in a total fog. Took a while to come around from that. The mild interlude continues to slide gradually into more typical conditions, with a chilly breeze.

Wed 11/30 - 80 minutes

Walden woods. Got an early start, able to run on the trails before dusk fell. Started out slowly, felt as if yesterday's relatively faster-paced run may have left more of a mark than I thought. Eventually loosened up though and finished off the last 20 minutes or so at a good clip. Calf held up fine and felt much better than Sunday's run in these woods. Right hammie and glute became stiff after the run, hammie feels tight. Gradually becoming more seasonable conditions over the past three days, cooler today but still not uncomfortable.

Tue 11/29 - PM 65 minutes

Area 51, a little quicker than yesterday overall. Progressively faster, esp. over the last 15 minutes. Calf is feeling better by the day and the worst of it appears to be behind me now. Cooling off a bit from yesterday, i.e. I wore pants instead of shorts, but still on the warm side for this time of year.

Mon 11/28 - 60 minutes

Area 51. Slow to start, not so much by the end. Getting the feeling that the calf may be coming around, but still too early to say for sure. All the poking and prodding of it seems to be having an effect though. Unseasonably warm.

Sun 11/27 - AM 85 minutes

Walden woods. Moving much quicker today than the last two days, picked up the pace further the final half hour. The uneven footing and terrain while wearing trail runners not the best thing for the calf but I didn't care. Stops at 30 and 60 minutes for some compressions on it which helped some. Thick fog in the morning, dank conditions which eventually gave way to warmer but still sticky weather.

Sat 11/26 - AM 55 minutes very easy

out and back in Fishkill and Beacon, drab and not especially scenic terrain. Woke up obscenely early, didn't really get back to sleep after that. Something that's happened a few times lately incl. yesterday. Very stiff out the door of course given the early hour. No attempt to do anything with the pace. The plan was to do a second run upon returning from the swooshocalypse but as I should have known, it took fucking forever to get back. By the time I got home, so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. Unseasonably warm day.

Fri 11/25 - double, 70 minutes very easy

AM - 55 minutes very easy, Area 51. Really, really rickety this morning. Kept it relaxed of course, calf still a mess of course. Right hammie pegged as well, something I noticed warming up yesterday. The beast goes on I guess. Chilly at the start, but warming up rapidly as the sun came up.

PM - 15 minute shakeout jog at Bowdoin Park after 3+ lovely hours in the van with the Wild Kittens. Legs felt like garbage. Very warm day.

Thu 11/24 - AM 70 minutes incl. 5k road race

Not an especially pleasant experience, although any major health disaster with the calf was averted. Too early start time (with attendant freezing temps) combined with no caffeine only added to the fun. Given a choice I would have given anything resembling a race a wide berth with the condition of the calf still not close to right, but I had 150 reasons to show up. Still, there was no need or reason to go any faster than a canter. As ever, foolish pride took over after an incredibly awkward start stepping gingerly off the line. Reeled in various morning glories and weekend warriors until I reached my level, which was a depressingly slow 5:40 pace or so. Duked it out with two of the hoi polloi for the all important age group win (in hindsight, worth absolutely nothing) including something resembling an actual sprint the last 100m or so. Still not sure how I pulled that off without straining the calf massively. It of course proceeded to to stiffen up as soon as I was through the chute. Very slow 30 minute cooldown on the rail trail (its proximity for warmup and cooldown being the best thing about the location of this race). Surely set things back yet again with this, hopefully the overall trend remains oriented toward recovery though.

Wed 11/23 - PM 45 minutes

Quick hitter relatively speaking. Very tired after getting home from work, nap was too long as a result. Going pretty well on the whole, calf still not close to being right so still forced to hold back on the pace.

Tue 11/22 - PM 70 minutes

Area 51. Different route than last night, generally a bit quicker as well. Calf was feeling better from the start so of course I got greedy and pushed the pace just enough to tweak it. Backed off before doing any major damage. Not as cold as yesterday, rain on the way.

Mon 11/21 - PM 70 minutes

Area 51. Moving much quicker than yesterday, with less pain and stiffness. After feeling like utter crap all day at work, mainly because of all the time spent sitting with my knee and ankle flexed, calf loosened up once I was able to do a bit of walking around in the afternoon. Of course, got a little greedy 2/3 of the way through and picked up the pace just enough to cause the soleus to stiffen up a bit, had to back off from that point on. Chilly and windy conditions.

Sun 11/20 - PM 70 minutes very easy

GMNWR and Concord center. If anything the calf felt worse than it did at the end of yesterday's run upon waking up this morning. Back to compressions and icing but to no avail thus far. Unable to do anything more than jog very lightly and gingerly on it, even that's probably too much of course. Blindsided is a fair description of my state of mind, tripping over a fucking branch shouldn't have resulted in this. To say nothing of how the hell it got strained in the first place last weekend--one minute I'm chugging along at a crappy slow pace in the half marathon, the next I'm limping on one leg. WTF indeed. Unseasonably warm day.

Sat 11/19 - PM 85 minutes

Track Road to Area 51 via Sudbury Road. Reaggravated left calf after tripping on a fallen tree limb that I didn't pick up with the headlamp. Took a few minutes for the full effect to sink in but one ill-advised quasi-surge about 10 minutes later made it abundantly clear that the whole fucking thing was back in spasm. Shuffled it in from there, extremely frustrating to say the least. Even putting aside the freak nature of the precipitating incident, it certainly looks like I had overestimated the degree to which I had recovered. Feels like almost back to square one when I thought the worst was already behind me. Not even close.

Fri 11/18 - PM 80 minutes easy

Out and back to TJs, first time doing this in a good long while. Pace picked up gradually on the way back, esp. the last little bit once back in Maynard. No issues from calf, not doing anything to stress it unduly of course. Hammies got tight again, felt better after post-run compressions. Temperature dropped with the sunset, wind persisted.

Thu 11/17 - PM 80 minutes easy

Area 51. The recovery continues apace. Started out slowly, but gradually picked up steam and doing some actual running in the last 10 minutes. Calf held up to it fine. Also somewhat less soreness in the high hammies than yesterday, took a bit longer for it to become noticeable this time. Much cooler today than yesterday, chilly after lingering showers cleared out.

Wed 11/16 - PM 75 minutes very easy

Area 51. Not quite as slow as yesterday, but still puttering to be sure. Calf coming along, full recovery still nowhere on the horizon of course. Easy jogging until then. Obnoxious rain all afternoon, failed insofar as dressing for it. High hammies got sore right around the hour mark which was disappointing but not surprising, that area remains a mysterious subtle mess.

Tue 11/15 - PM 60 minutes very easy

Tiger Drive to Old Marlboro and Longfellow, back via Waltham. About what I expected, in that the calf is still very vulnerable but going superslow on flat ground didn't bother it. Felt better by the end as well. Continued icing and compressions are helping a great deal with the recovery from the strain.

Mon 11/14 - off

Figured there was no way I would be running today after yesterday's damage. Did enough icing and compressions on the calf over the past day and a half (incl. at 5:30 AM) to get to a point where I felt like a superslow jog on flat smooth ground was doable. That went by the boards due to being overwhelmingly tired (see 5:30 icing session). Barely able to keep my eyes open on the drive home, went straight to bed for a too long nap once I did.

Sun 11/13 - AM half marathon in 1:21

Ugly ugly effort on the NH seacoast. Started out feeling relaxed but also with a strong inkling I had bitten off more than I could chew even though the pace was modest at best. The real bs started just after five miles when I slowly came to realize my left soleus was locking up. This came as quite a surprise although maybe it shouldn't have been given the stiffness in the left ankle/heel over the past week or so. It got tighter and stiffer with each step from there on out. Layout of the course is such that I could have stopped around 7.5 mile mark and gotten a ride back to the start but instead I stubbornly soldiered on. Lost the last money spot soon after that, no real surprise given I couldn't run anything resembling a decent pace anymore. Still persisted for a pair of shoes, which I ended up winning because the race was (as expected) quite non-competitive after the top 3. Limped through the last 5k and jogged it in across the line. Did some work on the calf after the race, very tender and sore of course, remains to be seen how much of a setback this will be. More worrisome even than the calf which will heal in time was the tight heavy feeling in both hammies that got progressively worse as well. Something that's been bugging me for six weeks or so.

Sat 11/12 - AM 25 minutes very easy

Another early slog, took some doing to get out of bed and out the door. Left ankle/heel quite stiff for the first couple of minutes, then it suddenly loosened up similar to how the right VMO attachment behaves most of the time. Ahh, aging. Breezy morning.

Fri 11/11 - AM 75 minutes easy

Lincoln woods, with drills on Pine Hill. A dreary putter, barely awake and both legs stiff and sore as well. Couldn't help thinking that an easy easy run yesterday might have helped alleviate some of the soreness today. Ended up doing all manner of direct pressure and cross fiber friction on the left SI joint as well as right hammie, and some rolling on the right IT band/TFL. Blustery conditions, trees blocked the worst of it but still not the greatest.

Thu 11/10 - off

tiredness and crap weather combined for a predictable result. Had a thought during the day that taking the zero wouldn't be a bad idea and the downpours on the drive home did nothing to change my mind.

Wed 11/9 - PM 70 minutes incl. 10x800

Something of an upset, able to complete the planned workout and then some. Originally planned on doing this on the Longfellow Loop but the darkness made me think better and so headed to the track instead after getting part way down Waltham Street. Given how flat I've been feeling lately, set the bar extremely low at 2:50 per rep to start, hoping to get through eight of them. After five it became clear the effort was sustainable enough to do ten instead. Splits:

2:49.6, 2:47.8, 2:47.5, 2:46.7, 2:44.3, 2:46, 2:42.6, 2:44.9, 2:42, 2:43.3

recovery was a 200m out and back jog which took between 65 and 67 seconds. Relaxed and under control throughout, although I was worried I may have dug a little too deep on the seventh rep. Nothing spectacular overall but I'm happy just to get through a longish workout in one piece. Right hammie sore during the day but not an issue during the run. Continued warm temps, something of a breeze but not overpowering.

Tue 11/8 - PM 45 minutes easy

Area 51. The malaise that's plagued me of late continues unabated. Mostly of my own making, although it does seem to be something of a November tradition as well. With the recent marathon thrown in the mix as well, who knows. Energy levels remain low although not as disastrously low as yesterday. Plenty of aches, right hammie, left SI joint, left ankle all stiff and sore through most of the day and then most of the run. Out of obligation, did some strides on the way in but they were much shorter and slower than the norm. Trying to dig myself out of the hole by getting to sleep earlier, with mixed results so far.

Mon 11/7 - PM 30 minutes easy

Caught by surprise at how flat I felt today. Had trouble getting out the door and within a few minutes it was clear that the length of the run would be cut short. Ended up walking it in. Calves sore from yesterday but really it's more about the overarching tiredness. Too tired even to bother with the full post-run stretch and core routine. Ended up crawling into bed "early" although that in part is due to the time changing yesterday.

Sun 11/6 - AM 70 minutes incl. 5k road race

Second time around for this particular race, felt like I had to work much harder this year although the time wasn't that much faster. Course just as I remembered it, a pain the butt with almost no straight sections and two decent stretches of climbing in the second mile. In fact, from about 1000m to the turnaround the course was mostly uphill and into a pretty stiff wind. More company than last year, as suspected. Tried to play some tactics by letting others lead on the windy headwind stretch. Shook all but one by the turnaround, quickly gapped on the way down and by two miles it was over. Packed it in for good with about 400m to go. As expected, underlying fatigue presented itself when the going got tough. Still a worthwhile sandbagging experience and served my purposes. The most excitement of the day resulted from coming across one of these sunning itself in the street while on the cooldown.

Sat 11/5 - AM 70 minutes easy

Lincoln woods with drills on Pine Hill. As early as I've started in some time, not really awake yet but this was the only time of day available. Ran out of gas on the run back from the hill, not that I was going great guns before that. Very flat and tired, not surprising at all. Right patellar tendon sore after yesterday's uneven terrain. Brisk and breezy morning.

Fri 11/4 - PM 70 minutes incl. repeats

Franklin Park. First time I've run fast here in years, today with the wildcats of course. Very brief warmup jog, 10 minutes at most. Then 2 trips up and over Bear Cage down to the backstop, a little short of 800m probably, followed by two trips around Wilderness loop that were probably a bit short of 1k. One final run around Plaisted, something a bit less than 600. As I did last week, worked my way through the groups from slower to faster. Very relaxed and easygoing at first of course, the last two reps done with the top two boys who were in well over their heads and racing each other as teenagers are wont to do. Relaxed but I can't say it was controlled, stretched right to the limit. Of course with 4-5 minute recoveries this behavior was enabled if not encouraged. Long mellow cooldown of 30 minutes afterward. Left glute feeling better after last night's work on it, but left hammie feeling off in the belly of the muscle. Cool and windy, if anything the wind picked up after the sun set.

Thu 11/3 - PM 50 minutes easy

Area 51. Would have run longer but schedule constrained my options. Predictably stiff after yesterday, even though it wasn't much of a session. Not quite as tired as I was feeling earlier in the week. Left high hammie feeling quite tight, realized just before bed the likely source was up in the glute. A few minutes of rolling on the lax ball left the area in much better shape.

Wed 11/2 - PM 50 minutes incl. 8x400

Semi-successful attempt at doing an actual workout, despite mojo still not back after the marathon and recent issues with getting to bed early enough. Set the bar intentionally low, 400s with 100 jog recoveries at something around tempo pace. Repeats avereaged around 80, recoveries 30 seconds. Also flexible going in as to pulling the plug if necessary after fewer repeats than planned. As the original plan was to do 16 reps the plug was indeed pulled. I also thought it would be a good idea not to check the watch so as not to get discouraged by what would surely be slow numbers. In hindsight I would have been better served checking the splits, as I thought I was going 2-3 seconds slower than actual. Tried to keep the effort relaxed and hold something back for later but it became clear that I had bitten off more than I could chew by #8. In the end it was a version of the Deek with truncated rest breaks.

Tue 11/1 - PM 65 minutes easy

Area 51. Took some doing to get out the door today. Still tired, although not as much as yesterday. Took it quite easy to start, showing some signs of life near the end. Enough to do strides but they were pretty mediocre as strides go. The slipping and sliding has left its mark on the hammies and stabilizing muscles, unforeseen but totally predictable. Avoided the stretch of Patrol Road that had all the downed trees yesterday, no idea if those had been cleared. Chilly and breezy, snow that's still on the ground adds enough moisture to make things dank as well.

Mon 10/31 - 40 minutes very easy

Area 51. A fool's errand of a run, dragging much more than anticipated and cut things short as a result. In fact, walked it in the last few hundred meters once I got back to downtown. Feeling the effect of the weekend, as much the underlying fatigue as the runs themselves which weren't all that. No energy whatsoever. Left hip tight again, rolled the SI joint on the lax ball as a result. Felt better for it but a holding action at best. Many, many trees down across the patrol road from the storm, stopping every 50m or so on average to clamber around them. Interesting to see but a pain nonetheless. At least I didn't step on any live power lines.

Sun 10/30 - 90 minutes

Walden woods. Mostly different route, utterly different footing after yesterday's storm which left the trails in varying degrees of snow, slush, and/or standing water. Made for quite the messy slog. Legs responded exactly how I thought they would, i.e. hammies got stiff and range of motion decreased as the run progressed into the final half hour. Still, not quite as bad a fade as yesterday's run on dry ground. Third morning in a row of being glued to the bed come wakeup time, took forever to get going.

Sat 10/29 - AM 90 minutes

Walden woods, with drills on Pine Hill. Moving at a decent clip for the first hour and then hit something of a wall after that. The run in from the hill after doing drills was especially slow, I was done by that point. Possibly the uneven footing had something to do with the fade, whatever the case both hammies felt tight by the end and I was pooped. Overcast conditions, but at least I avoided the weather bomb that showed up later on in the afternoon.

Fri 10/28 - AM 60 minutes easy

Major slugabed morning, great difficulty in peeling myself off the mattress. Still getting over that gd town meeting. Planned on doing some sort of threshold pace workout on the Longfellow loop this morning, first real workout of substance since the marathon, but I knew before I had gotten 3 minutes down Waltham St. that it wasn't to be. Turned off at Old Mill and eventually made my way over to Area 51 for an easy jog back there instead. Right medial knee area was gripping and tight all day yesterday, felt like crap, somewhat better today but still majorly stiff to start. Overall not feeling particularly spry. Clear, breezy and unseasonably cold, definite chill in the air.

Thu 10/27 - off

This zero caused equally by the exhaustion from going to that stupid town meeting last night and the abysmal weather all damn day, cold hard rain that turned briefly to snow. Barely made it home from work without falling asleep at the wheel, straight to bed after that. Disgusting weather, rained harder and longer than I thought it would.

Wed 10/26 - PM 60 minutes

Area 51. Started out easy, pace progressed somewhat over the second half of the run but stiff legs kept the speed modest throughout. Dragging during the day at work once again, even though I thought I'd slept reasonably well the past two nights. Apparently not. Spending 4+ hours participating in democracy isn't going to help this one bit either, no chance to stretch post-run and got to bed far too late for a weeknight.

Tue 10/25 - PM double, 80 minutes total

Another split afternoon run, earlier in the daylight with the wildcats, 5x800 at progressively faster pace starting at around 3:30 or so and ending at 2:45ish. Longish recovery between each rep with a 10 min jog warmup and cooldown. Right hammie tight during this, also feeling some tightness over hip trochanter. Later on in the evening, 45 minute easy run through Area 51. Toyed with the idea of doing hill drills but decided against it. Did some work on the right hammie beforehand, made it feel a bit better. Afterward though both hammies sore. Blustery conditions in the afternoon, wind calmed down a bit after sunset. Otherwise cool and clear.

Mon 10/24 - off

Laid low by tiredness, to an unexpected degree. Tempting to say the post-marathon hangover has asserted itself, but more likely just fatigued from the weekend in particular Saturday.

Sun 10/23 - PM 60 minutes easy

Walden woods, with drills and strides on the track afterward. Planned on running much longer, but took forever to get out of bed and get going, so much so that it was already the noon hour by the time I hit the trail. Legs still stiff and dead although maybe not as bad as the past couple of days. Took a brief break at Devil's Staircase, dismal overcast took the edge off the view though. Did drills to try and get the legs looesened up and feeling a bit of life in them, passably successful at this.

Sat 10/22 - AM 80 minutes very easy

Lincoln woods, with drills on Pine Hill. Both legs sore in awkward and unexpected ways. Stiffness in upper hammie area appears to be the lasting legacy of last week. Easy jogging until further notice, hopefully I can fit in some strides here and there as well. Probably shouldn't be running this much so soon after a marathon. Tough to stay out of the woods at this time of year though. Cool and breezy conditions, pleasant overall.

Fri 10/21 - PM 70 minutes easy

Area 51. More jogging. Pace petered out a bit toward the end.

Thu 10/20 - PM 75 minutes very easy

Back into it with another split afternoon double. 35 minutes earlier with the wildcats, then the drive home followed by an easy 40 minutes in the outskirts of Area 51. Left hammie bothering me at work all day, that side feeling tight all the way up to iliac crest with TFL, etc. The easy jogging helped somewhat. Four strides on the football field at the end of the first run, worth the effort as the legs felt better for having done them. Tightened up again in the car of course, wound up pretty good by the end of the second run. Spent a while rolling the left SI joint on the lax ball, felt like this was the source of all the twinging down the left side. The time off earlier in the week served me well I think. Sunny, breezy and mild conditions.

Wed 10/19 - off

Still not quite ready to get back to running. Heavy rain all day didn't help with motivation. Surprisingly tired upon getting home.

Tue 10/18 - off

Feeling much better but still stiff and sore. Rode the bike for a few miles in the afternoon, which helped get the blood flowing in the legs. Feeling frisky enough after that to consider a short jog but by the time I got home thought better of it.

Mon 10/17 - off

Taking stock of the aftermath: some tightness in both quadriceps tendons, calves sore, but far and away the most affected area is the high hammie on both sides. Range of motion at an all-time low, no hip flexion to speak of. Surprising that the soreness is so concentrated in that area, even given the ongoing struggles with this particular spot. Real stiff as well, getting up from my chair and walking no picnic today.

Sun 10/16 - AM 2:43 marathon

Solid 17 mile threshold run, followed by an inexorable fade. Given how little preparation specific to this distance I've done in the past two months, the way things unfolded was no surprise. Still a worthwhile experience despite the thoroughly unimpressive final time and final 4 miles that dragged on forever. And of course it wouldn't be a marathon without a pit stop, in this case just after 30k. Stomach issues continued after the race as well, not sure the true cause but things have been unsettled for the past few days and I had a feeling it might haunt me during the race. Became uncomfortable around the halfway point, and got gradually worse from there until the bathroom break. I feel badly for whoever might have tried to use that porta-potty after I did. While there are surely metabolic reasons for the flagging pace, there was also some definite booty-lock going on. Hamstrings not able to put forth the necessary range of motion to maintain the pace as the 2 hour mark approached. Very nice course for this type of thing, no major hills to speak of and long flat stretches. Wind was an issue in places, esp. 13-17. By that time I was running alone, in fact the last 15 miles or so there was very little company. I was lining up the guy ahead of me on the second loop without really trying, but the bathroom break took care of that and I knew it would. Passed just before 25, at that point I didn't care one bit, playing out the string. Goal was to win my age group, I figured that was in the bag (it was), and besides there was nothing I could do about it by then. Numbers tell the story:

5:52
5:52
5:52
6:04
5:56
6:01
5:55
5:57
5:53
5:54
5:53
5:55
6:00
6:05
6:06
6:08
6:11
6:21
7:03 (pit stop)
6:20
6:23
6:29
6:45
6:35
6:44
6:55

Sat 10/15 - AM 35 minutes

Easy shakeout prior to tomorrow's big effort. Didn't sleep especially well, and felt drag-ass tired at the end of the run. Less than reassuring. More work on the left TFL/glute/piriformis area after the run, which felt fairly productive.

Fri 10/14 - PM 50 minutes

Weston, Winter to Bogle and on to Oak St via Rockport and Shady Hill. Mostly easy on the pace, with a couple of long pickups to catch up to the group I was running with after stopping to give directions. Left thigh thankfully feeling better than it did yesterday but of course the pace was much more gentle today. Rain coming down in sheets at times, very mild temps though made it a lark.

Thu 10/13 - PM 45 minutes incl. 2x3200

Warmup jog to Longfellow loop, out and back along the first 3200m of the loop with about a minute's rest at about PMP, i.e. 11:57 and 12:01. Not much of a confidence booster as the pace felt just a bit too taxing. More problematic was the left hip/SI joint/lower back stiffening up over the course of a mere 4 miles of faster running. Doesn't augur well for Sunday, in fact if the leg feels like this I probably won't be finishing the thing. Feels like there's a pretty tremendous knot in the glute, which seems to be dragging down everything in the vicinity (adductor, TFL, etc). To top it off, stomach wasn't cooperating, felt bloated most of the run.

Wed 10/12 - PM 30 minutes

Yet another late start, no more weekday dual meets after today though thankfully. Left hammie/TFL twinging all day at work, lots of sitting on the lax ball during the day. Felt somewhat better as a result and okay during the run but could be better.

Tue 10/11 - off

All the sleeping during the day yesterday resulted, not surprisingly, in not being able to get to sleep last night. Made it through the day in one piece but by the time I got home I was cooked.

Mon 10/10 - 40 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Something of an afterthought, shakeout after a day spent resting in hopes of digging myself out of the fatigue that's accumulated over the past few weeks. The day was notable still for what will surely be the final dip in the pond for the year, given my schedule and the forecast. Unseasonable warmth continued into the day, which made the pond a destination in the first place. Like yesterday, the initial plunge to chin depth was no picnic, got somewhat used to it after a few minutes, after 15 minutes fingers starting to get cold. Legs felt better after the pond than before.

Sun 10/9 - double, 85 minutes incl. 5k xc race plus 20 minutes in Walden

AM - 45 minutes incl. cross country race. Felt flat and lethargic from the moment I woke up. Hoping to feel some signs  of life but it didn't really happen. That and the infernal heat (for this time of year) made me readjust my expectations to winning my age group instead of winning the whole thing. Something of a shame as the field was not that strong. Stayed under control the first few minutes, spent the rest of the first half of the race passing people who didn't. First mile dead flat, then the next mile climbed in stages to the top of the aqueduct. Hauled in a few people on the biggest hill w/o really trying, less a testament to my climbing ability than to how relatively slow I was going beforehand. On the way back down, ran right off the course for a few seconds (good for a laugh) and then waited for the thing to end once we got back down to the flat ground for the last 1500m or so. Couldn't come soon enough, as I got passed back and had no energy with which to respond. Too lazy to do much of a cooldown. Disgustingly hot out.

PM - 40 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden. Hot and sticky enough to make jumping in the pond an attractive option. Bracing to say the least, but still worthwhile.

Sat 10/8 - AM 55 minutes

Various chunks of running around the dew-soaked fields of the Weston HS athletic complex. First was a too-short 10 minute warmup jog, but I couldn't gather up the motivation to get started any sooner. A few half-hearted drills before the jog which is of course ass-backward for me, evidence of how unfocused I was. Next was 12 minutes running 3x approx. 800m at just under 6:00 pace with slower jog recoveries of 200-300m in between. Then the full 5k course with the wild kittens, same idea with the changes of pace but slower of course. Then a too-brief 10 minute cooldown with motivation fading fast, and desire to eat lunch growing stronger by the minute. Left leg not nearly as bad as it was yesterday but still fairly stiff at the outset. Very warm day, record warmth in fact, but practice was early enough to avoid the worst of it.

Fri 10/7 - 1:50 easy

Another quasi-double, 50 minutes in Lincoln woods with drills on Pine hill, then drove over to Weston and ran a very easy hour with two of the wild kittens. All this after spending the night in Nashua, waking up obscenely early and driving to VT for the ibex tent sale, shopping for an hour, and driving back home. Needless to say, all the sitting around in the car on top of the workout yesterday meant that the left leg was a complete mess by the end of the afternoon. Tightness in left hammie and TFL, the entire leg twinging from hip to ankle, wonderful. Spent a lot of time with both the foam roller and lax ball, needless to say. Crisp, clear cool day, very nice conditions to be outside.

Thu 10/6 - PM 60 minutes incl. 4x400, 4x300, 4x200, 3x100

Theoretically this was supposed to be a leg prep workout but not enough recovery between reps made it into something else entirely. Easily enough remedied, not that I made the adjustment in the midst of the workout as I probably should have. 300 jog after each 400, 200 after each 300, etc. on down to the last lap which was 3x100 with 50m jogs between. Combination of stiffness in left hip and underlying fatigue from not sleeping enough still having their effect on the quality of workouts as evidenced by the decidedly humdrum numbers:

400s - 75-77, 86-90 second recoveries
300s - 56-7, roughly equal time on the recoveries
200s - 38, 30 second recoveries

After the 400s it felt like I might be stalling out, tried to moderate the effort the rest of the way. Still dead beat by the end. Total 6400m in 24:20.

Wed 10/5 - PM 35 minutes easy

Jogging around Weston HS fields. Also some bike riding back and forth along the course. Meet got over late, at dusk in fact. Left hammie and SI joint still stiff and tight. Humidity a thing of the past (for now at least) as the NW wind took over by lunchtime. Chilly by sunset.

Tue 10/4 - 65 minutes very easy

Round trip to 10 Spencer. Out via rail bed, back along 27 as darkness had fallen by that point. Legs feeling better today, although maybe not as much as I had hoped. Energy level still low, and dropped off after taking a bathroom break at the S. Acton trestle halfway through the trip out. SI joint feeling stiff, spent some time rolling on the lax ball as a result and it felt much better afterward all the way down my left leg. Heavy rain showers during the afternoon, subsided soon after I got started but the first few minutes weren't fun at all.

Mon 10/3 - PM 55 minutes very easy

Area 51, barely moving but salubrious nonetheless. Legs felt terrible all day, hammies quite sore and stiff as well as every muscle group attached in some way to any part of the hip bones it would seem. Desperately tired on the way home from an awfully long practice with the wildcats, made me consider taking the day off entirely. Stretching would have been less productive without some kind of easy jog though. Got a late start, first of many runs in the next few months done entirely in the dark. Still humid but cooling off compared to last week.

Sun 10/2 - AM 1:40 incl. 15 mile threshold run

Attempting to turn a 10 mile road race into a 15 mile marathon pace run. The major caveat to this plan was that the course is in Harvard meaning plenty of roll with miles 7-9 each being net uphill. On the plus side the layout lent itself to doing the first 4 miles of the course plus a mile to get back to the start area after doing the actual race course. Under control early on, but when the course turned up the pace slowed right down. First six mile splits averaged just under 6:00, next three uphill miles averaged 6:15 and felt like dung. Took just under 4 minutes to get from finish line back to the starting line to do the next five miles. Not surprisingly the splits were slower (avg. 6:15) and the hill on the third mile was no fun at all. Also dealing with a pretty strong urge to use the bathroom, thought for sure I'd have to make a pit stop which didn't end up happening but still didn't feel so hot. Gloomy overcast conditions, spitting drizzle at times with thick ground fog early on. Kind of gross but no chance of overheating. Hard to say if the whole thing was successful, expectations not exactly sky high to begin with given how tired I've been feeling lately, just hoping to survive the thing really. Both hamstrings stiff and sore later on afterward, range of motion very limited when I attempted to do some stretching.

Sat 10/1 - PM 70 minutes easy plus 15 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods with drills on Pine Hill. Spent the bulk of the day resting, trying to dig myself out of the hole I'm in fatigue-wise. Got started late enough that the run finished in the dark. Happily, no recurrence of the ankle trouble that plagued me the last time I did hill drills. Left leg and hip feeling better after yesterday's post-run work on the area. Surely will feel like crap again after tomorrow though. That the pond is still a viable option in October says all one needs to know about the recent weather pattern.

Fri 9/30 - PM 80 minutes easy

Area 51. Left leg tight and stuck all day, made the run a chore even though it was a relaxed jog. At times the pace slid into very easy territory. Spent a lot of time with the foam roller and lax ball afterward to try and work out the kinks in the TFL and SI joint. Felt like it was mostly successful, but still frustrating how stuck it got after yesterday's workout. All the post-run ministrations seem to amount to a holding action for about the last month or so. The other thing dragging me down, underlying fatigue, certainly a factor today as well. Needed a nap before heading out the door even though this meant a late start. Continued muggy weather, albeit with cooler temps. No end in sight to the overcast skies.

9/29 - PM 70 minutes incl. 6x1600

Longfellow loop, in the midst of heavy rains and booming thunder. Heavens actually opened only after the warmup, and not a moment too soon as the humidity was stifling before that. Not especially optimistic about how this would go, in particular how the left hammie/SI joint would hold up to the strain. While the SI joint got stiff on the last rep the area wasn't a problem other than that. Took a 400m jog between reps to make the logistics work so as not to be going back and forth. Made for slightly longer recoveries than I'd like but still between 1:45 and 2 minutes. Pace on the reps nothing to write home about but given how flat I've been feeling since the weekend I'll take it. Splits of 5:30, 5:37, 5:34, 5:34, 5:31, and 5:35. Worried I had done the first one too quick, overcompensated on the next rep, but found a decent groove after that. I'd like to think I could have done two more reps at that pace, but it was getting late.

Wed 9/28 -PM 75 minutes easy

40 minutes with the wildcats along the aqueduct, then a break of about an hour, 35 minutes more mostly on trails near the reservoir. The second bit was slower than the first, feeling progressively more tired as the afternoon wore on. Left hammie and TFL stuck with lots of twinging going on. Spent more quality time with the foam roller after getting home. Still humid, of course.

Tue 9/27 - PM 70 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Another late start, combined with the ever-decreasing daylight meant that I ran out of light and had to come in via the rr tracks. Also the first dip in the pond post-sunset, once again necessary after yet another sticky gross day of the muggies. Left hammie and thigh in general is feeling tweaked, hip flexors on both sides feeling stiff in fact. Some quality time on the foam roller helped with that somewhat. Still dragging energy-wise, not capable of much more than easy running at the moment.

Mon 9/26 - off

too tired by the time I got home. Still recovering from the weekend's travel-related travails. As a bonus, strained something in my right heel while picking up the laundry basket from the floor.

Sun 9/25 - PM 65 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

I had much grander plans for today, but it wasn't to be. Decided weeks ago this would be a good day for a long marathon pace run on the Longfellow loop, but far too tired from the past two days of travel and crushingly long days to make it happen. Planned to go in the morning, but barely awake after breakfast and ended up going back to bed. Pushed it back to the evening, but after a second nap in the mid-afternoon still feeling the telltale signs of underlying fatigue. Had I realized sooner it was a no-go I could have gotten on with things and done the easy run in the woods with more daylight, but I was holding out hope to feel better after resting all day. Didn't happen, alas. Took solace in jogging in the woods, serenaded by various barred owls. Left hammie still off, has to be related to the SI joint on that side which has been feeling somewhat stuck lately. Less than ideal conditions, humidity still going strong. Bad enough that it would have made any hard effort today that much worse. Pond is noticeably cooler than the last time I was able to get to it a couple of weeks back, refreshing after 40 minutes of slogging in thick air.

Sat 9/24 - AM 65 minutes very easy

Mostly up and down route 9 in Fishkill, with a side jaunt up an unmarked driveway that went straight up the side of a small mountain. Went off on a trail from there which had dicey footing in spots. Unable to sleep past 6 AM, just what I needed after yesterday's 18 hour day. Walked out the door of the hotel and was hit with a wall of humidity, utterly disgusting. Not surprisingly, the run could barely be classified as such for a good portion of it. Missed the side road I had planned on using, ended up going further south on Rt. 9 than I wanted to or should have. The side trip up the hillside was entertaining if not exactly advisable. Following the morning's run did the usual back and forth sporadic bits of running on the Bowdoin Park course, which meant going up and down and running through tall wet grass. Slightly less humid but still gross.

Fri 9/23 - PM 15 minutes easy

Jog around the hotel parking lot in Fishkill NY after a lovely 4+ hour slog down 84. Between the torrential rain and traffic jams in Hartford and Waterbury, a carbon copy of the last time I drove 84 west, in early July to get to NYC. I thought the planned shakeout with the wildcats would possibly be canceled due to our late arrival but I was wrong, we did it although not until 8:30. Worthwhile in the sense that it loosened up very stiff legs, but everything got pushed back from there such that it was impossible to get to bed until after midnight. So tired I could barely see straight. Fucking traffic.

Thu 9/22 - PM 65 minutes incl. 3(400-300-200-100)

An unexpected turd of a workout, although in hindsight shouldn't have come as any surprise. Combination of being overextended/tired and tweaked left hammie made it a total slog. Still not all there after last weekend. Numbers don't nearly match the effort expended to produce them:

77.0/56.8/36.6/18.1
77.3/56.3/37.3/18.5
75.0/56.6/37.1/18.6

recoveries of 300/200/100 within each set, which went by in 1:30/65/34 on average. Lap jog between sets in roughly 2 minutes which wasn't really enough for the purpose of this workout but I just wanted to get it over with. Wondered if I should cut out after the second set, fearing I was doing damage to the left thigh, but soldiered on and did some cross-fiber friction on the area afteward. Whatever's going on with the left side starts with the SI joint, which was fairly stiff and got the lax ball as well. Cherry on the sundae was the humidity, which has returned to gross levels after the cool dry start to the week. Muggies show no signs of leaving anytime soon either, ugh.

Wed 9/21 - PM 55 minutes easy

Area 51. Exhausting the options for runs back there of this length, but still beats the alternative. Got an even later start than yesterday and went with the headlamp as a result, not accustomed to wearing it before the clocks get turned back, when it's still warm out. Left hammie twinging at times, possibly did something to it riding the bike around at the wildcats' meet earler in the afternoon. Continued overcast and fairly muggy conditions.

I walk toward one of our ponds but what signifies the beauty of nature when men are base? 
-HDT

Tue 9/20 - 50 minutes easy

Area 51. Got home from work dead to the wide, thus another nap which felt like it went into deep sleep. Late start, considered taking the zero but wanted to get out the door regardless. Puttering along at the start, but actually moving pretty well by the end, some recovery from the weekend. Humidity is back, temps not quite as high as last week though.

Mon 9/19 - PM 75 minutes very easy

Area 51. Feeling the weekend's efforts, low energy level and also sore calves again although not nearly as bad as after Magnolia. Very relaxed jog in the woods as the darkness gathered. Continued cool and dry weather, once the sun set it got downright chilly and fast.

Sun 9/18 - AM 70 minutes incl. 10k road race

Final edition of the Lone Gull race in Gloucester. Went to bed too late, predictably after yesterday afternoon's long nap, and woke up feeling less than refreshed as a result. Nothing changed during the slow jog warmup. Standing on the starting line I felt not a whole lot different from Labor Day at Mt. Greylock, hoping it wouldn't go that poorly. Looking to expend as little effort as possible on the back end of my sandbagger's delight weekend double. This wasn't to be as someone who looked like age group competition decided to force the issue from the gun. No idea who he was although maybe I should have recognized him. Spent the first mile doing just enough to keep contact with the top 3. Passed the mile in 5:14, faster than I would have liked, and figured the pace would falter soon. In fact, the next two miles were both about the same number as I got in front of the ex-engineer and tried to consolidate the 3rd place spot. Unable to shake him w/o burying myself however. Course turned back to the north soon after halfway and in doing so turned into the wind that was coming off the water. Felt the pace slow immediately although the wind was only partly to blame as I was stalling anyway. Spent the second half doing just enough to hold my spot, kept waiting for a chance to let my foot off the gas but it never came. Mildly annoying but holding on to 3rd place and the reward that entailed made it worthwhile. A shame this race has seen its last, nice area which I shouldn't need a road race as an excuse to visit. Very slow 20 minute cooldown back and forth on the beach. Went for a casual bike ride in the afternoon, incl. marking the Longfellow Loop.

Sat 9/17 - AM 55 minutes incl. 5k road race

Maynard road race, now held a block from my door and as such even more irresistible than it has been in the past. New course fairly ordinary, but of course on very familiar streets. Dragging somewhat thanks to getting to bed quite late after going to the baseball game last night, even though I left before it ended. Looking to put this thing to bed without any unnecessary effort. Holding back consciously on the first mile which went in 5:35. Geared down a bit after that trying not to over-exert myself and found that second was getting too close so put in a surge that was probably longer than it needed to be. Two miles in 11:00, one more surge at a sharp turn onto Summer Street before cruising it in to the very unique finish in the middle of the municipal parking lot. I had planned on a longer warmup and/or cooldown, but both ended up being less than 20 minutes each. Figured I would do a second run later in the afternoon, slept away that opportunity. Clear, cool and breezy conditions continue, almost chilly last night.

Fri 9/16 - PM 60 minutes easy

Weston, very similar run as 8/29 down Meadowbrook and back via aqueduct and Ash Street. More relaxed overall this time although there were two rather long surges to reach the next group of runners up the road after leaving the group I had been with previously. Left leg started barking in the later stages of the run, tightness in hammie and TFL mostly. Very anxious all day at work about the left ankle but it was not an issue. Left leg in general is all scrunched up at the moment, still feeling the effects of the last two workouts on the LL. Weather turned for the better, downright cool with a brisk NW breeze all day but most importantly, dry.

Thu 9/15 - PM 70 minutes easy

Lincoln woods with drills on Pine Hill. Cutting it a bit too close in terms of daylight, barely able to see where I was stepping after the drills. As a result I tripped hard on a small rock, scuffed one hand and hyperextended two fingers on the other, lovely. More worrisome by far though is the sudden and unexpected blowup of the left medial ankle during the hill drills. Something similar happened a few years back running up the steepest part of Great Hill, acute onset but didn't linger. However I wasn't stupidly doing bounding drills on it then either. Setup for this likely leftover tightness in the left leg from Tuesday. Continued muggy weather but at least 15 degrees cooler than yesterday.

Wed 9/14 - PM 40 minutes easy

NARA park and Acton Town Forest, easy jog after the wildcats dual meet wrapped up. A spot somewhat steeped in nostalgia for me, although this wasn't ever an area I visited that frequently. Left hammie quite stuck and felt like garbage for at least two thirds of the short and very slow run, finally loosened up some near the end. Definitely aggravated it yesterday, hopefully things will come around somewhat by the weekend. Even more humid today than yesterday evening, back to totally gross conditions. Took a soak in the NARA pond after the run which felt great even with the slimy plants carpeting the bottom.

Tue 9/14 - PM 60 minutes incl. 9x800, 1000

Longfellow loop. Surprisingly tired upon getting home from work, took a 20 minute catnap that I'm fairly certain plunged into REM sleep. Workout ended up being a series of compromises, starting with the length of reps. I was originally planning on 1km repeats but realized that doing 800 instead would allow me to run the loop w/o turning around and going back and forth. The plan was to run the loop 3 times, 4 reps per loop. Soreness in left high hammie had me scale that back to 10 reps. Had it not been twinging I'm fairly certain I could have done the originally planned 12 but I was sensing by the end that more damage was being done, and the aggravation of the area was increasing exponentially as the # of reps piled up. 200 jog between each rep, which took 56-60 seconds with the notable exception of the last one which was a whopping 67 sec. Numbers:

2:37
2:40
2:41
2:43
2:37
2:39
2:43
2:42
2:38
3:20 - turned around for the last one and ran the first kilo back to the start.

Blasted the first 200 of the first rep way too fast, like under 39, which set a rhythm that was hard to shake. Eventually got to a point where I was more relaxed and not front-loading the effort on later reps, trying to finish strong instead. The numbers would indicate that not all 800m segments of this course are created equal, which doesn't surprise me. The first 800m of the loop being dead flat and almost totally straight makes it go by a few clicks quicker. Humidity increased as the evening approached, stealthily but it was unmistakable once I got going. Shed the shirt after the first loop, which is rare for me. As a result the handful of locals out for an evening stroll or bike ride got a show I'm sure they weren't too thrilled about. Finished completely drenched in sweat.

Mon 9/12 - PM double (sort of), 85 minutes total plus 20 minutes in Walden

PM - 45 minutes with the wildcats out and back along the aqueduct. Started off nice and easy, quite relaxed, picked up the pace substantially after turning around so as to run with the top boys for the last third or so. Got the first-hand view of two high school boys repeatedly one-stepping each other. I think it was unintentional, but who knows. The adolescent mind remains inscrutable as ever. The quicker pace didn't treat my legs so well, tightness in both hamstrings and left hip flexor twinging again.

90 minutes after the first run ended I was at the Lincoln woods TH. Ran directly to the pond, in the pond for a dip, then directly back. Warm day, warm enough that getting in the water was a nice relief. Legs stiff to start, felt better by the end. Kept the pace relaxed throughout which certainly helped.

Sun 9/11 - PM 75 minutes very easy

Walden woods. Paying the piper for yesterday's busy and full day. Originally had plans for a longer run in the AM but I knew upon waking up that wouldn't be happening. When I did finally get around to hitting the trail 8+ hours later found the energy level to be very low. Couldn't muster up the motivation to get in the pond which is saying something. Focus and interest waned towards the end of the run, various short stops and walking breaks interspersed in the last 20 minutes. Not that surprising given that I ran more yesterday than planned and the threshold run in the evening to boot. Humidity somewhat higher today.

Sat 9/10 - double, 1:50 total incl. 16k threshold run

AM - 30 minutes total, in chunks, ad Maudsley Park. Jogged the two mile loop that the kids were racing to see the layout, then ran at a pretty good clip from the start area to the mile mark for each of the two races. Plenty of standing around in between of course. So desperate to get some sleep last night I chose to forgo stretching before going to bed, felt it today.

PM - 80 minutes incl. 4 laps on Longfellow in an hour. Had some doubt as to whether I'd be able to pull off the originally planned number of laps given how tired I've felt lately. Plus a late start I wasn't feeling that sanguine about it. Locked into a relatively modest pace early on, unable to do much to change it but by the same token it seemed like I could have kept going if necessary. Unable to see my watch on the last lap in the gathering darkness, ran on feel by that point. The numbers:

5:58/6:03/2:54
5:59/6:03/2:56
6:01/5:57/2:55
5:58/6:01/2:56

Some stomach issues on the final lap and stiffness in the left SI joint afterward but other than that no major problems physically. Cool and  dry conditions.

Fri 9/9 - PM 65 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods, plus drills on Pine Hill. Developed a pounding headache around lunchtime, unusual and unsettling in equal measure. Certainly, definitely, obviously a result of being so overextended lately. Staying up late to watch the Zurich meet on TV was in hindsight quite dumb, not that I regret it so much. Like yesterday, found a catnap to be mandatory before starting the run and felt much better for it. Bit of a squeeze getting to the pond in time though, finished the dip with less than five minutes before the ranger stooges closed the place. Finally a break in the four days of gloomy humid crap weather, much more pleasant conditions.

Thu 9/8 - PM 60 minutes incl. 15x200, 400

Return to leg prep work, or my version of it at least. Originally thought I could pull this workout off in the morning before mid-morning dentist appt. (far too ambitious in hindsight). Heavy rain put paid to that idea. Plus feeling really tired still, ate breakfast and went back to bed. After spending the second half of the day at work, went to wildcat practice and rode the bike for a few miles incl. up and down Highland a few times. By the time I got home it was getting later on in the afternoon, still felt a brief nap was necessary before attempting anything. Felt better for it, but a very late start so I wanted to get done in a hour or less. Rain had stopped mid-morning but still extremely humid and gross. Revolving 300-200-100 recoveries between reps, five times through this cycle and then a victory lap tacked on to make it 16 laps total. After easing into it the first three reps at around 38, everything else between 36.4 and 37. Recoveries also quickened after the first set, around 80 seconds for 300 jog, 55 for 200, 28 for 100. Final 400 in 74.4, total time 24:13. Given how flat I've been feeling, these numbers were a bit faster than what I was expecting. Short slow cooldown.

Wed 9/7 - PM 80 minutes easy

PM - 20 minutes with the kids, down Ash St and back on Wellesley. Dragged along again of course. After an hour or so of supervising the rest of practice, went back out for an easy hour on trails behind Regis with a loop around the res as well. Started slow and got slower, if anything. Coming around somewhat on the exhaustion front but it'll take time. Third rainy gloomy day in a row.

Tue 9/6 - off

long overdue and much-needed. Left adductor feels mildly strained, probably from the hike down steep and slippery trails yesterday.

Mon 9/5 - AM 75 minutes incl. race up Mt. Greylock

Flatter than a pancake, unable to put forth any kind of effort. The bill certainly came due from the hopelessly overextended schedule I've been living since returning from Colorado. Not recovered from last week's trip/race, or the week before for that matter. As such, this effort was absolute last thing I needed to be doing. Realized this within 10 minutes of the gun going off, which left a long time to run alone up the hill. Progressively backed off the pace, reached a point of perfectly calibrated get it over with mode where I was neither jogging nor going hard enough to incur excess fatigue. Surprised that no one caught me, and shocked that I broke an hour as I was truly going through the motions. Calves not an issue that I could tell, subsequent days will determine if this was in fact the case. Conditions didn't help any, if possible it was more humid after last night's t-storms than before. Difficult to overstate how crappy it was. Less detrimental at the higher elevations where it was cooler but still miserable. Spent very little time at the socked-in summit, enough to get changed and eat some food, then hiked down via AT and Bernard Farm trails, getting pelted by intermittent rain showers. The hike down took longer than anticipated and meant lunch was delayed. Completely exhausted after the day's folly.

Sun 9/4 - double, 65 minutes total

AM - 50 minutes very easy out and back on the Norwottuck RT. Flat, straight, and slow, about all the calves can tolerate at the moment. They're progressing but slowly. Tomorrow's effort isn't going to help them any.

PM - 15 minutes barefoot jog on Williams' football field, followed by stretching. The run only happened to make the stretching go better. Disgusting humidity all day, but at least no tornado watch like in the next county over from where I did this.

Sat 9/3 - AM 2 hours easy plus 22 minutes in Walden

Easy run around GMNWR, then a loop in Walden woods with drills on Pine Hill, and a dip in the pond as well. Calves still stiff, soleus especially, which made the drills a bit dicey. Definite hair of the dog vibe, not getting much air on the hops and bounds compared to usual. Left hip flexor twinging and became increasingly sore as the run progressed, felt better with a little cross fiber friction but something is stuck in there right now. Wondering if the calf soreness is partly due to some lingering effect of the race last weekend up Mt. Mansfield. We'll see. Humidity returning, started early enough to avoid the worst of it but getting gross.

Fri 9/2 - PM 80 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

The most notable aspect of this run was how utterly trashed my calves were. I suppose it has to be chalked up to not getting an adequate warmup yesterday but good grief. Barely able to dorsiflex my ankle on uphill grades, made for slow going at times on the trails. If ever I needed a dip in the pond today was the day. Felt great but the first few minutes after getting out were a bit chilly with the sun setting and temp dropping after another dry clear day.

9/1 - PM 55 minutes incl. 5k road race

Once more to Magnolia, scenic area to visit but getting there was awful. 90 minutes of gridlock, arrived 20 minutes before the gun went off. Warmup was a 5 minute jog and some drills as a result. Didn't feel that bad on the line but the underlying exhaustion presented itself by 1200m or so. Fairly obvious I wouldn't be winning the thing outright even before that. The last two miles spent in semi-cruise mode, although I was working harder than I would have liked for the pace I was going. Mile splits of 5:01 for the downhill first mile, 5:20 for the rolling second mile, 5:25 for the net uphill third mile. Calves started tightening up almost immediately after finishing, definitely a reflection of the truncated warmup. Conditions close to perfect, cool and dry. Logistics may make this race a no-go for me from here on out, a shame because it looks like I could win a free pair of shoes every year for at least the next decade.

Wed 8/31 - PM 35 minutes easy

jogging around the Weston fields with the kids. A brief warmup jog, then some drills, then 4k in around 18 minutes or so with a bonus lap at 7:00 pace beforehand to find the range, then some stretching, then a 10 minute jog. Got in the day's lifting (such as it is) as well after the cooldown jog. Everything relaxed, felt good although I strained something in my left thigh the other day, I think jumping over a fence. Warm and dry again.

Tue 8/3 - PM 60 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Last-minute editing, I had originally planned on doing some sort of leg prep today but wasn't feeling up to it or interested. Realized I had enough time and daylight left after high school practice to hit the pond and went for that instead. Despite feeling fairly tired all day at work, the pace on the run was quick almost from the get-go and quicker still the last 10-15 minutes. Another dry warm clear day post-Irene.

Mon 8/29 - PM 65 minutes

Weston, nice loop down Wellesley Road to Meadowbrook and back via aqueduct and Ash Street. Very scenic with a mix of rolling hills and flat terrain. My first run with the young Wildcats. Predictably a hammerfest, although sources told me repeatedly it was an easy run. My own breathing and observations of others told me otherwise. Dragged along from the get-go, thought pace would slack after 15 minutes but it took more like 40 and then kids were taking breaks at every opportunity for a wide variety of reasons. Finished with a relaxed barefoot jog on the plush grass of the football field, which was fantastic and quite frankly what the rest of the run should have been like. Warm sunny dry day. Missing the pond dearly of course, I'll be hitting it this weekend to be sure.

Sun 8/28 - PM 1:45 easy

Mostly out and back to Brues Woods, puttering along taking in the sights post-Irene. Came back through Area 51. Kind of a dud where I was, no loss of power thankfully. I expected to see more trees uprooted, esp. in the woods, but only saw one. Plenty of limbs and small branches down however. Pace was very easy on the way out, picked up moderately on the way back but not by much. Got home last night quite late, so concerned about what was coming I spent an inordinate amount of time preparing for a possible extended loss of electricity and water. Got to bed ridiculously late, just what the doctor ordered after what's been going on this past week. Originally thought I would get the run done in the morning, that simply wasn't happening. Ended up getting a fairly late start.

Sat 8/27 - AM 60 minutes incl. 4.3 mile mountain race

Tired and flat. Given a week of far too late bedtimes and an inability to readjust from mountain time to east coast time, not especially surprising. I had hoped that one night of decent sleep might balance out the six nights of not nearly enough leading up to it. This wasn't the case. Had a brief thrilling moment in the first 5 minutes or so where it seemed that maybe the time spent at altitude would enable me to simply run away from everyone, or at least separate the top three money slots from everyone else. Unable to make it stick though, and the second half of the race dragged on forever. Did enough to maintain my spot, for what that was worth. Utterly exhausted and spent. Had the race taken place tomorrow instead of today as originally scheduled before the hurricane changed things, I might have been rested enough to put a better foot forward, or not. Cooldown more of a hike than a jog thanks to the logistics of getting down off the mountain, walked along the ridgeline for a time, scrambled down the Cliff "trail" to the gondola, then walk/jogged straight down the steepest part of the ski slope to get to the lodge for the much-needed post-race feed as I was famished. Stuck it out 'til the bitter end of the raffle (at least I won something, though not one of the more valuable prizes) then back on the road for the 4+ hour odyssey back home in driving downpours.

Fri 8/26 - PM 30 minutes easy

Out and back at Mine Falls Park, en route to Vermont. Pleasant and flat run, pace picked up somewhat on the way back. Left hip somehow got stuck in the iliac crest/TFL area, an unpleasant surprise. Extremely strung out and tired from a week of errand hell and far too late bedtimes.

Thu 8/25 - PM 75 minutes easy plus 25 minutes in Walden

Approached the pond from a different direction but ended up with roughly the same amount of time spent as yesterday, and about the same (slow) pace. Originally planned on doing some kind of threshold reps today but feeling far too flat and tired to pull that off. Just as well as the weekend's race has been moved up a day thanks to oncoming weather apocalypse and the right hammie felt off all day, possibly from overdoing the romanian deadlifts last night. Disgusting humidity by late afternoon, not too hot but warm enough to be uncomfortable.

Wed 8/24 - PM 70 minutes plus 22 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods plus drills on Pine Hill. Got to bed way way too late last night, feeling it for much of the run as a result of course. Yesterday's relatively effortless pace pickup a distant memory. Drills tiring but legs none the worse for wear from the weekend. Breezy conditions, but the clouds are starting to creep in presaging the weekend's weather insanity.

Tue 8/23 - PM 75 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Started out just as easy as yesterday's run, picked it up substantially at about 45-50 minutes though, motivated mainly to get back to the car in time to make a planned social engagement. Moving well and completely under control. Felt fairly sluggish during the day at work, made how I felt on the run somewhat surprising. Another very nice day, still warm but dry.

Mon 8/22 - PM 90 minutes easy

Track Road to Area 51. Kept from the pond and trails thanks to another unplanned dentist visit. Bordering on very easy for a good portion of the run. Left SI joint tight, to the point that I broke out the lax ball for some direct pressure on the area afterward. First time I've had to do that in a while. Given recent events, not particularly surprising or distressing however. Quite tired of course. Yesterday's muggies gave way to crisp, dry breezy conditions, about as good as one can get for this time of year around here.

Sun 8/21 - PM 40 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Back in humidity's cloying, disgusting embrace. Planned on taking a day off, probably should have, but unable to resist the opportunity to get into the pond, esp. considering such opportunities will evaporate after next week. Also not as tired from the day of travel as I thought I would be. Taking stock of yesterday's effort, some stiffness in left hammie and calves are sore. Overall not nearly as bad as it would be had it not been all uphill of course.

Sat 8/20 - AM Pikes Peak Ascent, 2:33

It would appear dreams do sometimes come true after all. Ran about what I thought I could do for this race (educated guess) on a day with good weather conditions, to my surprise it was good enough for 10th and all the prizes that entails. Not even expecting to hit my predicted time after a predictable and agonizing night trying to get some sleep. Teflon consciousness in full effect, probably didn't sleep much more than I did the night before Mt. Washington only this time I didn't have the excuse of sleeping in a leaky tent during a downpour. Combined with the flatness of the past couple of days, and the generally low amount of sleep I've been getting for the past week or so (starting with Glenwood Springs really), I figured I was completely fucked. Increased the caffeine dose pre-race in what seemed like wishful thinking. Warmup was a few half-hearted drills and strides, then feeling increasingly anxious noting the mountain goats all around who were carrying fluids on their person, something I hadn't seriously considered doing. I went off with one gel stuffed in my shorts, and feeling of dry mouth coming on in the first 400m of the race. Immediately decided I'd hit every aid station instead of every other.

After the first mile or so of shaking out and just before getting on to the trail proper, found myself in a small group of three. Lead pack was gone before I hit Ruxton, never saw them again. Realized keeping up with them would be unsustainable, scaled back a bit and let them go up the Ws. Soon joined by Andy Ames who shadowed me for the next 90+ minutes, with what seemed like a fairly large group behind us. I figured the pass by him would be inevitable, he seemed to be waiting for the right moment. Got into a sustainable rhythm, ever mindful to "adjust the effort" when the course got steeper. This meant slow down. And it actually worked, as I felt controlled and smooth most of the time. Around 6 miles or so, one of the two who I had let go of early on came into view. My shadow and I passed him by the time we reached Barr Camp, where I was informed I was in 11th. This was surprising to say the least. No one else anywhere in sight up ahead, so I was resigned to being 11th or 12th unless someone cratered. Nearly drowned trying to consume the gel, not at all pleasant. The boulder clambering between Barr Camp and treeline wasn't any fun, as expected. However, we did come across this guy walking. Now in 10th with 11th breathing down my neck, literally. Soon after A-frame, I made what amounted to a little move, not really on purpose, which Andy covered. Soon after, he made a move of his own. I figured I was dead meat. Stride shortened even more on the loose gravel above treeline, if that's possible. Around 11.5 miles, I realized Andy was faltering and I went by as aggressively as possible at that elevation. Saw a decent gap forming when I got to the next switchback and had to contain my excitement and not get carried away heading into the last mile.

The last mile took about 20 minutes, and was unlike anything I've ever experienced in running. Or "running" in this case since it was physically impossible to run much of it. So desperately wanted to get the thing over with, worried that I was being caught by Andy or someone else. I was asking my quads to do things they weren't capable of, a level of mind/body disconnect that was completely foreign and terrible. Like a dream where you're trying to escape someone but everything's moving in slow motion. At one moment I thought I saw someone reeling me in but I must have misjudged how far down the switchbacks they were, it was certainly terrifying at the time. No idea where the actual finish line was situated, saw it when I was still about 80 vertical feet and maybe a couple of hundred yards away. Rounded the last corner (walking) and thought about running over the line to give the fans a show, tried a few steps and realized it was pointless anyway since no one was in sight behind me. Walked triumphantly across the line with my quads feeling like they were about to explode. Legs very twitchy, like every major muscle might go into spasm simultaneously if I moved too quickly or with any kind of eccentric contraction. How people do the full marathon here I'll never know, going back down after racing up is incomprehensible.

In hindsight, doing the hill drills regularly really paid off in terms of having the leg strength to deal with the slope changes. Acclimating for two weeks and spending so many nights at 8000'+ more important though. Field not as deep as last year, or most years recently, with some of the heavy hitters not showing up. Not that I care.

Aid station splits (rough):

Incline switchbacks 25:30
No Name Creek 41:45
Bob's Road 53:45
Barr Camp 73 minutes
A Frame 1:44
Cirque 2:13

Fri 8/19 - AM 40 minutes easy

Out and back along the lower loop in Crested Butte. Very early and very easy, and very chilly as well. Shower, quick breakfast and then the four hour drive to Colorado Springs to get the windshield replaced on my rental car. Good times. 

Thu 8/18 - AM 75 minutes

Deer Creek Trail near Gothic. Just me, the cattle, and their numerous cow pies. Out and back along this path on the advice of a local who said it was scenic country, even by CB standards. Lived up to that billing.

SE towards Mt. Crested Butte and the ski hill

SW towards Gothic Mountain

Turned around a little sooner than intended when I came across three cows lying down on the trail:

In hindsight it was for the best as I continue to feel tired from yesterday. Feeling pretty strung out by the end of the run. Trail climbed in spurts on the way out, enough to be taxing at this elevation. Temp rose noticeably over the course of the run as some thin clouds cleared out and the sun got higher.

Wed 8/17 - 2 hours to the Continental Divide

Out and back from Tincup to Tincup Pass. Picturesque run on a road that was at times very, very rocky. Left my car in the Tincup Town Hall parking lot, hoping it wouldn't get towed based on the distinctly unfriendly signs up and down the main drag. Road up had a few steep sections but overall fairly gradual compared to some others I've seen of late.

 CR 267

Took a break at Mirror Lake, 3 miles up:

Another longer break at the divide of course, where a kind lady with a 15 year old dog took the picture at the top of this post.

looking east from the divide

Made it up in a little under 70 minutes, down in just over 50. The last 3 miles down, from Mirror Lake back to not so friendly Tincup, seemed to go on forever. Legs a bit dead and rubbery, and probably in need of a bit of a break before Saturday.

Tue 8/16 - AM 1:45 easy

Hartman Rocks. Tried in vain to memorize a decent-sized loop from the map, promptly forgot it in the tangle of intersections near the starting point at the top of Kill Hill. Wound up making a loop by dead reckoning and not going any further south than the power lines. The Luge, Dirty Sock, Buddy Bear, Josho's among the trails I ended up on at one point or another. Kept it relaxed throughout, legs mostly recovered from Sunday but still feeling fairly tired and took a while to get up in the morning. Clear and sunny conditions.

Mon 8/15 - PM 70 minutes very easy

Gunnison. Out and back along the dirt path behind the football stadium, which I last ran on the day after an up-and-down trail race last summer. Legs not in nearly the state they were then, but overall feeling quite tired and the 3+ hour drive over from Glenwood Springs didn't help. Very relaxed pace on the run as a result, no real progression of the pace. Right foot a bit sore but nowhere near what I had been fearing.

Sat 8/14 - AM 1:45 including trail half marathon

The apotheosis of sandbagging. First, and almost certainly last, win in Colorado. Not exactly a distinguished achievement as the field was small and many notches below competitive. Combined with the last-minute and fairly substantial changes to the course which included twice around a loop in the last 3 miles that had "afterthought" written all over it, the experience only vaguely resembled a race. At least they did come through with the post-race spread. Slept poorly last night, hot days making the room I'm sleeping in very stuffy. Also far too anxious for this morning's event. Got up feeling flat and tired, and worried about aggravating the foot as well. Took one look at the field on the starting line and knew I could take it relatively easy. Led pretty much from the gun, climbing went fine although at times I was wondering if I was going any faster than when I ran up the same road on Friday. Reached the turnaround just after 5 miles about a minute before the next guy. Next 3+ miles all downhill and focused solely on not hurting the foot by stepping on small rocks in the road. Thankfully successful at this. Once the road bottomed out, spent the last 4.5 miles on cruise control. Took just a few looks over my shoulder during this time, never saw second place, as such pace got progressively slower the last 5k. As it turns out, the final margin was less than a minute, which I found somewhat surprising not that I cared. Every mile was dutifully marked but the only time I used the watch was to measure the gap at the turnaround. Legs and foot didn't feel that bad afterward considering the downhill pounding in flats. Weather cooperated, after four days of clear hot conditions the morning broke overcast and cool.

Sat 8/13 - AM 70 minutes easy

Looping around Glenwood Springs, trying to stay on the flats. This meant running near the river, even the confluence of the two rivers in town which is a nice spot, no pictures though. Mellow effort, right foot stiffer than I would have liked from yesterday but felt better after post-run stretching. Right ankle as a whole stiff and sore, probably from favoring the foot. As it turns out, this is one of the hotter places in Colorado at this time of year, not so bad when I ran in the morning with stiff breezes blowing but later on in the day is another matter.

Fri 8/12 - AM 90+ minutes

Glenwood Springs, up and down Red Mountain. Trying to preview the course for Sunday, even if I'd had the map in hand I don't know if I'd been able to stay completely on course as it was more confusing up there than I'd expected. Got most of the way up, I think. Time of the run a little fuzzy as there were numerous breaks at the turnaround point, checking out the large metal cross that looms over town which is right next to the field where paragliders launch themselves into the valley. Also stopped at a slightly lower point to chat with a local about the trail, who took this:

Better view down the valley heading towards Aspen and Mt. Sopris:

the payback for all these breathtaking views of course came in the descent, steep but not unmanageably so but the road surface had sections of loose rocks just big enough to be potentially problematic. Had to watch it in spots, and after the run I could feel the right plantar that had been bothering me less and less over the past 10 days. Definitely aggravated it some, not too bad but doing this in flats, at race speed, could be another matter.

Thu 8/11 - AM 2+ hours, Sunnyside trail

Another day of climbing (and descending), this time in Aspen. A town much better experienced from above than up close:

As advertised, the initial climb was no joke, 45 minutes or so most of which was very steep. Reached  the upper elevations with the largest aspens in the state or so I'm told.

The trail on top was quite nice, shady, cool and relatively flat. Taking it easy after the climb up, no stress to speak of. The descent back to the valley floor was more of a trial than I would have liked, thanks to nearly getting lost trying to find the damn bike path to get back to the starting point. Luckily came across a guy walking his dog who put me straight before I headed down a dead end. Walked with him for a few minutes, by this point I had been out around two hours and wasn't really keeping track anyway. Pace varied on the descent, sometimes hauling along in get it over with mode.