Fri 10/14 - PM 50 minutes

Weston, Winter to Bogle and on to Oak St via Rockport and Shady Hill. Mostly easy on the pace, with a couple of long pickups to catch up to the group I was running with after stopping to give directions. Left thigh thankfully feeling better than it did yesterday but of course the pace was much more gentle today. Rain coming down in sheets at times, very mild temps though made it a lark.

Thu 10/13 - PM 45 minutes incl. 2x3200

Warmup jog to Longfellow loop, out and back along the first 3200m of the loop with about a minute's rest at about PMP, i.e. 11:57 and 12:01. Not much of a confidence booster as the pace felt just a bit too taxing. More problematic was the left hip/SI joint/lower back stiffening up over the course of a mere 4 miles of faster running. Doesn't augur well for Sunday, in fact if the leg feels like this I probably won't be finishing the thing. Feels like there's a pretty tremendous knot in the glute, which seems to be dragging down everything in the vicinity (adductor, TFL, etc). To top it off, stomach wasn't cooperating, felt bloated most of the run.

Wed 10/12 - PM 30 minutes

Yet another late start, no more weekday dual meets after today though thankfully. Left hammie/TFL twinging all day at work, lots of sitting on the lax ball during the day. Felt somewhat better as a result and okay during the run but could be better.

Tue 10/11 - off

All the sleeping during the day yesterday resulted, not surprisingly, in not being able to get to sleep last night. Made it through the day in one piece but by the time I got home I was cooked.

Mon 10/10 - 40 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Something of an afterthought, shakeout after a day spent resting in hopes of digging myself out of the fatigue that's accumulated over the past few weeks. The day was notable still for what will surely be the final dip in the pond for the year, given my schedule and the forecast. Unseasonable warmth continued into the day, which made the pond a destination in the first place. Like yesterday, the initial plunge to chin depth was no picnic, got somewhat used to it after a few minutes, after 15 minutes fingers starting to get cold. Legs felt better after the pond than before.

Sun 10/9 - double, 85 minutes incl. 5k xc race plus 20 minutes in Walden

AM - 45 minutes incl. cross country race. Felt flat and lethargic from the moment I woke up. Hoping to feel some signs  of life but it didn't really happen. That and the infernal heat (for this time of year) made me readjust my expectations to winning my age group instead of winning the whole thing. Something of a shame as the field was not that strong. Stayed under control the first few minutes, spent the rest of the first half of the race passing people who didn't. First mile dead flat, then the next mile climbed in stages to the top of the aqueduct. Hauled in a few people on the biggest hill w/o really trying, less a testament to my climbing ability than to how relatively slow I was going beforehand. On the way back down, ran right off the course for a few seconds (good for a laugh) and then waited for the thing to end once we got back down to the flat ground for the last 1500m or so. Couldn't come soon enough, as I got passed back and had no energy with which to respond. Too lazy to do much of a cooldown. Disgustingly hot out.

PM - 40 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden. Hot and sticky enough to make jumping in the pond an attractive option. Bracing to say the least, but still worthwhile.

Sat 10/8 - AM 55 minutes

Various chunks of running around the dew-soaked fields of the Weston HS athletic complex. First was a too-short 10 minute warmup jog, but I couldn't gather up the motivation to get started any sooner. A few half-hearted drills before the jog which is of course ass-backward for me, evidence of how unfocused I was. Next was 12 minutes running 3x approx. 800m at just under 6:00 pace with slower jog recoveries of 200-300m in between. Then the full 5k course with the wild kittens, same idea with the changes of pace but slower of course. Then a too-brief 10 minute cooldown with motivation fading fast, and desire to eat lunch growing stronger by the minute. Left leg not nearly as bad as it was yesterday but still fairly stiff at the outset. Very warm day, record warmth in fact, but practice was early enough to avoid the worst of it.