Fri 4/22 - double, 75 minutes total

AM - 45 minutes very easy. Fringe of Area 51. Took a while to get going this morning, a long while. Tired from yesterday's travel. Took it slow the entire way.

PM - 30 minutes, incl. drills and strides on the track. Thought I was going to do some glorified strides but no energy. Pooped out right now. Finished the drills and headed home. Windy day, colder than it should be for this time of year.

Thu 4/21 - AM 1:50 very easy

Out and back over the Williamsburg Bridge, with a bit along the East River park which was the highlight. The lowlight was every step of the run in Brooklyn, ugh. While I didn't see much of the borough, the part I stayed in and ran through made me think of Stalingrad after the Germans left. To top it off got turned around within blocks of the hostel at the end of the run, ended up going 15 minutes or so more longer as a result. Picked up the pace a lot at that point just to get it over with. Blast force NW winds going all morning and day for that matter. Very tired from the usual hostel-related sleep interruptions, i.e. other people's snoring.

Wed 4/20 - AM 90 minutes incl. 2(4x1000)

Van Cortlandt Park. Long warmup in the woods, took my time trying to get loose. Chose to keep the workout simple and straightforward but increase the overall volume by a fair amount compared to last week. Some improvement over last week's track session in terms of how the left thigh held up to it which was my primary concern of course. Aiming for 84-85 pace early on, hoping to bring it down a notch after that. 200 jog recovery between reps, 5 minutes between sets. Splits:

set 1: 3:29.8, 3:28.9, 3:27, 3:24.3

set 2: 3:26.5, 3:26.7, 3:25, 3:21.4

recovery jogs right around a minute. Felt some tightness start to develop in the leg between sets, worried that I was exerting more effort to run the same pace in the second set but in fact the pace was a bit faster anyway. Controlled effort, uncomfortably sustainable for the most part. Pushed  it a little bit the last rep. Consistent wind, arranged it so I only got it in the face twice each rep still annoying. Gray and overcast, cool but not raining at least.

Tue 4/19 - 85 minutes easy

Central Park, Bridle Path and reservoir. A very similar run to yesterday in both duration and intensity. Skipped stretching yesterday due to travel to NYC and feeling it today in the left hip, tight and stiff most of the way. Gray and drizzly conditions that went downhill as the run went along.

Mon 4/18 - AM 85 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Close to very easy for much of the run, another very relaxed recovery day. Early start contributed somewhat to this. Left leg not giving me any undue trouble although I put minimal stress on it. Sunny and brisk with strong winds which the marathoners enjoyed well enough but not fun in the open when it wasn't at my back.

Sun 4/17 - PM 70 minutes incl. 12k threshold run

Finally back to the Longfellow loop for some faster tempo running. Some tightness in left hip and hammie beforehand but unlike some recent attempts at running fast the leg didn't tighten up to the point that I had to bail. Planning on a slightly slower pace at the start than what ended up happening, splits as follows:

5:58/5:59/2:54
5:55/5:56/2:52
5:49/5:51/2:48

First two loops under control, pushed it a bit more the final lap. Hardly impressive but getting through the entire thing and having the pace progress from beginning to end are what I'll be taking away from this. Some wind but not as bad as I was expecting, temps relatively mild.

Sat 4/16 - AM 85 minutes easy

Track Road to Area 51. Not quite as slow as yesterday's run but pretty close. Took a long break an hour in at the visitor center and why not as my taxes helped pay for it. Left hammie twinging most of the way, annoying. Miserable conditions, cold and blustery. Back to well below average temps after a couple of days above the norm recently.