Fri 7/22 - PM 35 minutes easy

Hottest day of the year with triple digit temps across southern New England, and I spent the hottest part of it behind the wheel stuck in traffic trying to escape the peneplain for the relative cool of the White Mountains. Tiring experience in more ways than one, easy shakeout upon arrival was all I had the time or inclination for. On the plus side, the Pemi river is within a stone's throw of my campsite. Cooling off post-run the highlight of the entire day. Tightness in right shin still there but not as bad as yesterday.

Thu 7/21 - PM 65 minutes easy plus 40 minutes in Walden

Return of the double dip, occasioned of course by the hideously bad weather conditions with heat index into the triple digits. Extremely lethargic set of drills on Pine Hill as well. Very sluggish throughout, no desire to force anything of course as I would prefer to live to see another day. Felt very tired afterward, took some doing to get through the stretching routine at home with inertia setting in. Tightness on the right shin from yesterday apparently, more specifically on the muscle running alongside the tibia. Mildly troublesome during the day at work but responded fairly well to direct pressure and not an issue on the run itself. Will bear watching though.

Wed 7/20 - PM 75 minutes incl. 2(8x400)

Not totally convinced doing a track workout on such a hot humid day in the middle of the summer is necessarily a great idea, but went ahead with it anyway. Expectations diminished as far as pace on the repeats. Along with the high heat index there was a persistent SSW wind blowing which kept things a bit cooler but also blew right up the backstretch the entire time. Each set 10 laps total, first set took 14:47 while the second set went in 14:20 which was surprising. I was thinking I might wilt the second set but I suppose holding back a bit early on made for a stronger finish. All relative given the slow split numbers--first set between 82.3 and 83.7, recoveries 28-30. Second set 80.3-83.3 but mostly mostly under 81, with recoveries averaging around 27. The final rep in each set was actually a 500 to make it 10 laps even. Finished feeling less exhausted than in previous sessions, but certainly warm and in need of a dip in the river. Cooldown very easy.

Tue 7/19 - PM 85 minutes plus 25 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Easy to start but gradual increase in pace later on. Feeling better than yesterday, which isn't saying much, but noticeably more recovered from the weekend. Left ankle not as stiff. High temps, but dew point was reasonable.

Mon 7/18 - 60 minutes easy

Area 51. Dentist appt. made a visit to Walden impossible today, much to my chagrin. Irresistibly attracted to the woods even though I knew I'd get attacked by deer flies and offer a slow-moving target to boot. Lasted 40+ minutes back there before I couldn't take it anymore, came back on Old Marlboro and rt. 27 instead of the patrol road. Started very slow, pace picked up a bit after 20 minutes or so. Left ankle stiff both during and after the run, surprisingly so. Not quite as hot as predicted, but quite sticky with waves of t-storms having passed through earlier in the day.

Sun 7/17 - AM 2:10 mostly easy

Concord to Alewife along the reformatory branch and minuteman RT. Got started at 9 which was about a half hour later than I probably should have, almost ran out of fluids but made it in one piece by the end. Humid right from the start and the heat of course built inexorably. The frying pan stretch of east Lexington with almost no shade was no picnic however. Pace dawdled for the first hour or so, picked up gradually after that and got moving by the time I got to Arlington. This occurred more from a get it over with mentality than by design. Core hung in there better than expected, no noticeable shriveling of the hammies or abs even near the end. I had planned on doing an afternoon dip in the pond, but by the time I got back to Concord (on the train) I was too wiped out to make it back to the pond on foot which was the only way available. A shame the train no longer stops at the pond.

Sat 7/16 - double, 1:40 total inl. 5k road race plus 25 minutes in Walden

AM - early that is, 5k race with a 7 AM start time. Went to bed early and everything, slept as well as could be expected. Certainly better than last weekend. Grabbed the lead early on, though I might be in the clear but realized around 2k that I was being stalked. Pace felt quicker than it was, no doubt thanks to the early start. Soon after that realized I wasn't feeling capable of much in the way of a response. Soon after that I was passed (around 4k) and soon after that gave up on the win although I kept contact for a bit. Jogged it in at the 3 mile mark, in hindsight I could have started jogging as soon as I was passed, it was a two horse race. That happens when there are two other races in the immediate area, one in the same town even, and they don't go off at the ass-crack of dawn. Did I mention the race started real early? At least we avoided the rapidly building heat and humidity. Right lower ab (belly really) held up okay but TFL on the left side felt like crap afterward.

PM - 35 minutes easy plus 25 minutes in Walden. The running was strictly about getting to the pond and back, nothing more. The dip was sweet relief after a hot and sticky day. Legs were better for it.