Fri 7/15 - PM 65 minutes easy plus 25 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods with drills on Pine Hill. Got going early, skipping the now-routine afternoon nap entirely. Not an undue hardship. Right ab/adductor area feels better than yesterday, didn't do anything to further aggravate it, at least not on purpose. Temperature still reasonable but humidity was creeping back up to more typical mid-July levels all day.

Thu 7/14 - PM 85 minutes plus 24 minutes in Walden

Puttered around Walden woods, with a bit more than usual tacked on after the dip in Hapgood forest to get the overall time up a bit. Right lower ab/hip flexor area is definitely strained, having the faintest glimmers of a bad flashback to the hell of '09 when the area was total disaster area and I kept running on it making it far far worse than it ever should have been. I don't see it going that route this time around, although keeping on top of stretching and strengthening exercises will be of paramount importance. In hindsight, driving to and from NYC with a track race sandwiched in between may not have been the greatest thing for it following whatever I did to it in that track session last week of June. Weather just about perfect for this time of year, warm, sunny but most importantly dewpoint in the mid 50s. Wish it was like that for yesterday's misbegotten attempt at a progression.

Wed 7/13 - PM 65 minutes incl. 12k threshold run

Quite the slog on the Longfellow Loop, the numbers tell the story:

5:55/6:01/2:53
5:55/6:01/2:56
5:56/6:01/2:52

Nothing if not consistent. I had planned to do 4 laps, wrapping up in the mid to high 5:40s, but in hindsight that was far too ambitious. Temperature dropped from yesterday's steam bath, but the dew point remained elevated which made for a real slog. The muggies and the lingering tiredness from last week account for most of the inability to maintain a more robust pace. Hit a rough patch around 7k which proceeded to last the rest of the way and made the decision to cut bait a no-brainer. "Rough patch" in this case is a euphemism for stomach issues which made for an urgent pit stop immediately upon stopping. Lower ab (oblique?) remains sore and bears watching.

Tue 7/12 - PM 85 minutes plus 24 minutes in Walden

Started easy, but pace built up over time for the first hour or so before I felt things stall out a bit. Likely a combination of the heat and humidity which were as high as they've been this summer and the uneven footing tiring me out. Thought about doing some strides on the way in but by the time that rolled around post-dip in the pond, legs were too rubbery for it. While the weather was a drag it could have been worse without the persistent breeze that cooled things off a little bit. Still feeling some lingering soreness in lowermost right ab, from the strain doing the track workout two weeks ago followed by a track 5k. Only noticeable when not running though.

Mon 7/11 - PM 80 minutes plus 30 minutes in Walden

Relaxed effort under far from ideal conditions. Some tightness in both hamstrings. Temp and dewpoint both up about 6-8 degrees from where they were yesterday, which pushes things into the "gross" category. Took it easy enough that it didn't affect me too negatively though. Dip in the pond was of course the highlight.

Sun 7/10 - PM 65 minutes plus 24 minutes in Walden

Pretty much the same run as Thursday. Theoretically I was going to run longer today but not going to happen, slept and did laundry all morning instead. Sore in the expected places from the race and long drive home, but the legs loosened up quicker than I thought. Hot but with relatively low humidity again.

Sat 7/9 - AM 70 minutes incl. track 5k

Flat effort, tried to fake it but the underlying exhaustion asserted itself before too long and I couldn't make it as a result. Last night was no picnic trying to sleep in an unbelievably stuffy room but it's the cumulative effect of night after night of not being able to fall asleep for the past 7-10 days that really did me in. The long days and humid sticky nights have something to do with this, along with having to get up earlier for work. Combined it feels like a seasonal mania to be honest, may be until the end of summer before I can get back into a better sleep pattern. To overcome the lethargy, took in a bit more caffeine than usual. That kept me alert for the remainder of the afternoon but it would have taken a massive dose of amphetamines to get through the effort required by the race. This is leaving aside the effect of the temperature, exacerbated by the decision of USATF brainiacs to move the race back 90 minutes from the original start time. While any benefit to me personally of running earlier would have probably been counteracted by being even less awake, having to race just before the noon hour didn't seem to treat the rest of the field so great. 

As for the race itself, hung on to 73 pace or thereabouts for the first four laps, already feeling it start to slip away after 1200m though. Since no one was giving out splits at the back corner (thanks again USATF) and I wasn't checking the clock at the finish line except for 1k and 3k (9:19), all I know is that the last 5 laps took 6:30 to run. Surprised that I never made it to 80 second pace actually, given how desultory the effort was in the latter stages. A shame how things turned out because underneath the fatigue I'm definitely fit right now, as fit as I've been in a while.

Fri 7/8 - PM 30 minutes easy

Easy shakeout in Van Cortlandt after an immensely frustrating drive down through multiple traffic jams and periods of heavy rain (the two were likely related). Not raining while I ran but disgustingly humid. Started slow, gradually picked up towards the end. No nap today, that's for sure, spent the time driving down I-84 instead.

Thu 7/7 - P:M 65 minutes plus 24 minutes in Walden

Started rather slow, pace picked up somewhat after halfway. Not feeling much in the way of ill effects in the legs. Still hot but not as bad as yesterday, nor as humid. Still, sleeping in this weather is a pain in the ass, somewhat strung out during the day as a result.