Fri 4/15 - PM 1:40 easy

Lincoln woods, around Farrar and Walden Ponds. Slow and deliberate run, not looking to stress the system after yesterday. QL left stiff and tight from the track work but not as bad as after this past Sunday which I'll take as an encouraging sign. Enjoyed the scenery but not the blustery winds, temperature dropped about 10-15 degrees from yesterday.

Thu 4/14 - PM 60 minutes incl. 3 (3x400, 500)

Long-anticipated and somewhat feared return to doing actual track work. Waiting for the left thigh and now back to come around has become like waiting for Godot, decided at the start of the week to test the waters and keep expectations decidedly modest. Which is good because this session was laughably unimpressive. Feeling stiffness in QL and glute medius while warming up and doing drills, so less than optimistic as I got the actual workout started. 100 jog interval between reps, with the last rep in each set going for 500 instead of 400 to make the whole thing 2k.

First set 400s between 80 and 82, recoveries avg. 29, 500 1:42.
Second set 400s a hair slower than the first, recoveries varied from 26 to 31, 500 in 1:40.5.
Third set 400s between 81 and 82, recoveries 27-8, 500 1:43.

Both mentally and physically well out of practice for this type of running and it showed. Leg felt the worst at the beginning of the second set but more or less stabilized from there. Wind was there throughout but seemed to pick up the final set. Poor fitness and possibly the leg tightening up and losing functional range of motion might have had something to do with perceived exertion and slower splits as well. Cooldown was very short and very slow, but initial indications appeared that the aftermath won't be nearly as bad as after Sunday's races. No getting around the fact that this pace is pretty close to my 5k effort right now. Sharp as a butter knife.

Wed 4/13 - PM 90 minutes

Track Road to Area 51 via Sudbury Rd. Surprisingly tired upon getting home from work, got a later start than I would have liked as a result. Still nursing along the sore QL, I keep finding a large trigger point back there. Took it easy at the start, but by 20 minutes or so I felt energetic enough to pick up the pace. Steady gradual acceleration to the hour mark, bathroom break, then started slow and built up again for the remainder of the way. Even flat surfaces much better for me right now. Miserable weather all day, I missed the worst of the rain but still coming down harder than I would have liked by the time I got out there. 

Tue 4/12 - PM 70 minutes easy

Area 51. The original plan was to run in Lincoln but I could tell during the day at work that the legs weren't sufficiently recovered for the terrain and footing there. Coming around from Sunday, but slowly. Like yesterday, left ankle started off quite stiff. Achilles feels strained as well. QL very tight and stiff, lower back as a whole felt like garbage all day at work, adductor not much better. Better after some post-run direct pressure. Pace a bit faster than yesterday which isn't saying much. Cooler than yesterday with clouds moving in.

Mon 4/11 - PM 60 minutes very easy

Area 51. Basking in the aftermath of yesterday, predictable but still discouraging. Very tired, very sore. Left ankle disturbingly stiff for the first few minutes of the run, it's become more problematic of late after not bothering me much for a while previously. Adductor and QL both feel weak and mildly strained, not really able to do their jobs adequately. Puttered along very slowly as a result of all this. Record warmth today, not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be.

Sun 4/10 - PM 85 minutes incl. 5k/10k road race

About what I expected, not a good thing as I was quite downcast about how this would go. About 30 seconds behind where I was in these races a year ago under broadly similar conditions. Lack of any kind of actual training, as opposed to just running, makes for dulled fitness. Still being on antibiotics and staying up too late the past two nights didn't help either. Felt flat and tired on the warmup before the 5k. Obvious on the starting line that the race was just deep enough to make a money spot doubtful. Stayed with the lead group for the first half of the race, first 3/4 mile being into a stiff breeze made for what felt like a tactical pace. Happy to catch a draft through this stretch. Once the moves started I was spit out the back and that was that. More or less gave up at 2.5 or so, last uphill mile of 5:40 after hitting two miles in 10:20 attests to this. Left adductor tightened up a bit after this, some soreness in the QL/SI joint as well. Spent some quality time with the lax ball during the break between races. The 10k was just a bit deeper as well, ran about as well as I could have asked for given the nature of the double. After hitting two miles in around 11:20, hit mostly around 5:50 pace the rest of the way. A little quicker on the flat and downhill miles a bit slower on the uphill miles, overall very focused if sluggish. Like last year, pulled away from an overambitious triathlete just after halfway. Thought I might be catching up to the guy ahead of me on the final climb after 5 mile mark but once things flattened out it became clear that was a bridge too far. Left leg held up better than I thought it would during the race although after all the hard running it began stiffening up immediately after finishing. This continued through the rest of the afternoon. Unpleasant surprise of the day was how stiff and sore the left ankle was before, during, and after the day's activities. Warm temps, fairly windy but could have been worse.

Sat 4/9 - AM 70 minutes easy

Lincoln Woods. More like very easy at times, not quite awake yet for some of this run. Left haunch feeling fatigued from yesterday. For the second Saturday in a row, planned PM shakeout went by the boards, this time at least it wasn't due to illness, just tired. Pleasant enough conditions, morning chill just giving way to a warmer day when I was out there.