Fri 10/21 - PM 70 minutes easy

Area 51. More jogging. Pace petered out a bit toward the end.

Thu 10/20 - PM 75 minutes very easy

Back into it with another split afternoon double. 35 minutes earlier with the wildcats, then the drive home followed by an easy 40 minutes in the outskirts of Area 51. Left hammie bothering me at work all day, that side feeling tight all the way up to iliac crest with TFL, etc. The easy jogging helped somewhat. Four strides on the football field at the end of the first run, worth the effort as the legs felt better for having done them. Tightened up again in the car of course, wound up pretty good by the end of the second run. Spent a while rolling the left SI joint on the lax ball, felt like this was the source of all the twinging down the left side. The time off earlier in the week served me well I think. Sunny, breezy and mild conditions.

Wed 10/19 - off

Still not quite ready to get back to running. Heavy rain all day didn't help with motivation. Surprisingly tired upon getting home.

Tue 10/18 - off

Feeling much better but still stiff and sore. Rode the bike for a few miles in the afternoon, which helped get the blood flowing in the legs. Feeling frisky enough after that to consider a short jog but by the time I got home thought better of it.

Mon 10/17 - off

Taking stock of the aftermath: some tightness in both quadriceps tendons, calves sore, but far and away the most affected area is the high hammie on both sides. Range of motion at an all-time low, no hip flexion to speak of. Surprising that the soreness is so concentrated in that area, even given the ongoing struggles with this particular spot. Real stiff as well, getting up from my chair and walking no picnic today.

Sun 10/16 - AM 2:43 marathon

Solid 17 mile threshold run, followed by an inexorable fade. Given how little preparation specific to this distance I've done in the past two months, the way things unfolded was no surprise. Still a worthwhile experience despite the thoroughly unimpressive final time and final 4 miles that dragged on forever. And of course it wouldn't be a marathon without a pit stop, in this case just after 30k. Stomach issues continued after the race as well, not sure the true cause but things have been unsettled for the past few days and I had a feeling it might haunt me during the race. Became uncomfortable around the halfway point, and got gradually worse from there until the bathroom break. I feel badly for whoever might have tried to use that porta-potty after I did. While there are surely metabolic reasons for the flagging pace, there was also some definite booty-lock going on. Hamstrings not able to put forth the necessary range of motion to maintain the pace as the 2 hour mark approached. Very nice course for this type of thing, no major hills to speak of and long flat stretches. Wind was an issue in places, esp. 13-17. By that time I was running alone, in fact the last 15 miles or so there was very little company. I was lining up the guy ahead of me on the second loop without really trying, but the bathroom break took care of that and I knew it would. Passed just before 25, at that point I didn't care one bit, playing out the string. Goal was to win my age group, I figured that was in the bag (it was), and besides there was nothing I could do about it by then. Numbers tell the story:

5:52
5:52
5:52
6:04
5:56
6:01
5:55
5:57
5:53
5:54
5:53
5:55
6:00
6:05
6:06
6:08
6:11
6:21
7:03 (pit stop)
6:20
6:23
6:29
6:45
6:35
6:44
6:55

Sat 10/15 - AM 35 minutes

Easy shakeout prior to tomorrow's big effort. Didn't sleep especially well, and felt drag-ass tired at the end of the run. Less than reassuring. More work on the left TFL/glute/piriformis area after the run, which felt fairly productive.