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.