Sat 10/1 - PM 70 minutes easy plus 15 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods with drills on Pine Hill. Spent the bulk of the day resting, trying to dig myself out of the hole I'm in fatigue-wise. Got started late enough that the run finished in the dark. Happily, no recurrence of the ankle trouble that plagued me the last time I did hill drills. Left leg and hip feeling better after yesterday's post-run work on the area. Surely will feel like crap again after tomorrow though. That the pond is still a viable option in October says all one needs to know about the recent weather pattern.

Fri 9/30 - PM 80 minutes easy

Area 51. Left leg tight and stuck all day, made the run a chore even though it was a relaxed jog. At times the pace slid into very easy territory. Spent a lot of time with the foam roller and lax ball afterward to try and work out the kinks in the TFL and SI joint. Felt like it was mostly successful, but still frustrating how stuck it got after yesterday's workout. All the post-run ministrations seem to amount to a holding action for about the last month or so. The other thing dragging me down, underlying fatigue, certainly a factor today as well. Needed a nap before heading out the door even though this meant a late start. Continued muggy weather, albeit with cooler temps. No end in sight to the overcast skies.

9/29 - PM 70 minutes incl. 6x1600

Longfellow loop, in the midst of heavy rains and booming thunder. Heavens actually opened only after the warmup, and not a moment too soon as the humidity was stifling before that. Not especially optimistic about how this would go, in particular how the left hammie/SI joint would hold up to the strain. While the SI joint got stiff on the last rep the area wasn't a problem other than that. Took a 400m jog between reps to make the logistics work so as not to be going back and forth. Made for slightly longer recoveries than I'd like but still between 1:45 and 2 minutes. Pace on the reps nothing to write home about but given how flat I've been feeling since the weekend I'll take it. Splits of 5:30, 5:37, 5:34, 5:34, 5:31, and 5:35. Worried I had done the first one too quick, overcompensated on the next rep, but found a decent groove after that. I'd like to think I could have done two more reps at that pace, but it was getting late.

Wed 9/28 -PM 75 minutes easy

40 minutes with the wildcats along the aqueduct, then a break of about an hour, 35 minutes more mostly on trails near the reservoir. The second bit was slower than the first, feeling progressively more tired as the afternoon wore on. Left hammie and TFL stuck with lots of twinging going on. Spent more quality time with the foam roller after getting home. Still humid, of course.

Tue 9/27 - PM 70 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Another late start, combined with the ever-decreasing daylight meant that I ran out of light and had to come in via the rr tracks. Also the first dip in the pond post-sunset, once again necessary after yet another sticky gross day of the muggies. Left hammie and thigh in general is feeling tweaked, hip flexors on both sides feeling stiff in fact. Some quality time on the foam roller helped with that somewhat. Still dragging energy-wise, not capable of much more than easy running at the moment.

Mon 9/26 - off

too tired by the time I got home. Still recovering from the weekend's travel-related travails. As a bonus, strained something in my right heel while picking up the laundry basket from the floor.

Sun 9/25 - PM 65 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

I had much grander plans for today, but it wasn't to be. Decided weeks ago this would be a good day for a long marathon pace run on the Longfellow loop, but far too tired from the past two days of travel and crushingly long days to make it happen. Planned to go in the morning, but barely awake after breakfast and ended up going back to bed. Pushed it back to the evening, but after a second nap in the mid-afternoon still feeling the telltale signs of underlying fatigue. Had I realized sooner it was a no-go I could have gotten on with things and done the easy run in the woods with more daylight, but I was holding out hope to feel better after resting all day. Didn't happen, alas. Took solace in jogging in the woods, serenaded by various barred owls. Left hammie still off, has to be related to the SI joint on that side which has been feeling somewhat stuck lately. Less than ideal conditions, humidity still going strong. Bad enough that it would have made any hard effort today that much worse. Pond is noticeably cooler than the last time I was able to get to it a couple of weeks back, refreshing after 40 minutes of slogging in thick air.

Sat 9/24 - AM 65 minutes very easy

Mostly up and down route 9 in Fishkill, with a side jaunt up an unmarked driveway that went straight up the side of a small mountain. Went off on a trail from there which had dicey footing in spots. Unable to sleep past 6 AM, just what I needed after yesterday's 18 hour day. Walked out the door of the hotel and was hit with a wall of humidity, utterly disgusting. Not surprisingly, the run could barely be classified as such for a good portion of it. Missed the side road I had planned on using, ended up going further south on Rt. 9 than I wanted to or should have. The side trip up the hillside was entertaining if not exactly advisable. Following the morning's run did the usual back and forth sporadic bits of running on the Bowdoin Park course, which meant going up and down and running through tall wet grass. Slightly less humid but still gross.

Fri 9/23 - PM 15 minutes easy

Jog around the hotel parking lot in Fishkill NY after a lovely 4+ hour slog down 84. Between the torrential rain and traffic jams in Hartford and Waterbury, a carbon copy of the last time I drove 84 west, in early July to get to NYC. I thought the planned shakeout with the wildcats would possibly be canceled due to our late arrival but I was wrong, we did it although not until 8:30. Worthwhile in the sense that it loosened up very stiff legs, but everything got pushed back from there such that it was impossible to get to bed until after midnight. So tired I could barely see straight. Fucking traffic.