Fri 1/20 - PM 50 minutes easy

Along the Charles, my new regular haunt it would seem. Harvard Stadium to North Station. Brief jogs from the station to the T stop and the T stop to my car as well. Left calf stayed stiff throughout, very tight after last night's workout. Still cold but not as windy as I thought it would be.

Thu 1/19 - PM 55 minutes incl. mile-1320-880

Pushing the envelope, almost but not quite to an inadvisable degree. Planning on doing the mile-12-8-4 cutdown with 2-4 200s tacked on as well. Ideally the first two reps quasi-tempoish and getting closer to 3k and perhaps mile pace after that. Splits:

mile: 81.3/76.9/77.4/77.8 - 5:13.5
4R
1320: 77.4/76.3/75.9 -3:49.7
3R
880: 72.2/73.0 - 2:25.2

The mile was quicker than I had hoped, shooting for no faster than Monday's 5:17. After hitting the quarter a bit slow, overcompensated the next two laps and then settled into that faster rhythm the rest of the way. 3/4 was as I had hoped to do it, although a couple seconds quicker than expected. Before the 800 I changed into spikes. A small amount of tightness in the left calf on the first two (longer, slower) reps, but nothing that felt unmanageable. Noticed the difference right away going from flats to spikes, i.e. a thin heel wedge to almost no heel wedge. Quicker of course but more stress on the calf. Hoping to run something just under 2:30, but with zero pace sense from lack of track work I rolled through 440 much quicker than expected. Then with 100 to go I nearly trampled a pack of 10 year old girls standing in lane 1 just as they were starting en masse as I passed by. Many thanks to their idiot coach for that. I was convinced I had spiked one of them which led to profuse apologies while running while trying to get wide. In dodging them I felt the beginnings of a telltale twinge in the calf. Slowed down the last 20m to avoid catastrophe, spent the next two minutes putting direct pressure on the trigger point of gastroc. Stood up, took two steps and knew I was done running fast for the evening. Cooldown was a slow and yet still somewhat dicey affair. Avoided another reaggravation by the narrowest of margins. Quite clear that I'm not ready to be wearing spikes, which means I'll toe the line Sunday in the same shoes I wore running the marathon and up Pikes Peak. Given where I was a week ago I'm happy to be able to toe the line at all.

Wed 1/18 - 55 minutes easy

Area 51. Headlamp battery went out which changed the route I chose, for the better probably. Need to cut the length of the runs at this point a little. Calf feeling pretty good, did nothing to aggravate it. Hammies still a bit sore but not as bad as yesterday. More seasonable temps.

Tue 1/17 - PM 70 minutes easy

Area 51. Relaxed recovery run, on fairly stiff legs. Soreness in left calf has moved its way down from the belly of the muscle closer to the achilles. Generally I view the migration of pain loci as a good thing as it usually means the underlying issue is on the way out, not sure how I feel about this though given the achilles is not a good place to be feeling soreness. High hammies stiff as well, to be expected after the time off from any kind of track work. The day started with snow that changed to rain, like last Thursday only with much less rain thankfully so less slush on the trails. Temperature on the rise as the evening progressed so there was plenty of fog though.

Mon 1/16 - PM 60 minutes incl. mile, 3(110-150-220)

Quasi-workout on the track, something that was unthinkable four days ago. Calf still vulnerable, felt a twinge on the last 110 when I had to stop short to avoid colliding with a kid jogging in lane 1, but overall a very positive experience. Initially planning on doing glorified strides only, after getting through the warmup drills and strides in one piece wearing thin-soled shoes I decided last minute to try a steady-paced mile at the outset. Looking for something in the 5:30 range, controlled and not all out, just to see how the leg would react. Ended up running 5:17 (2:39/2:38), more effort than I would have liked at the end to run this speed but still under control. After a 3.5 minute break, 3 sets of the glorified strides with ample recovery--lap and a quarter after each 110, lap and a half after each 150 (which was less than a 150, not sure by how much). 3.5 minutes between sets. The times were nothing spectacular, basically everything around 72 pace. Not looking to do anything but survive the effort with the calf staying in one piece however. Also still digesting a too-large lunch and feeling a bit flat as a result. Some stiffness in the left ankle afterward, something that I noticed yesterday as well when the calf felt better. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some actual training in from here on out. Old fart mile this Sunday is tentatively back on, although it won't be anything pretty.

Sun 1/15 - AM 70 minutes

Lincoln woods, with 6 strides (!) in the parking lot at the end. Found a knot in the calf last night that responded well to direct pressure. Following this, leg felt different from the outset on today's run. Trying not to become irrationally exuberant about it, nevertheless decided to try doing some strides at the end. No issues that I could tell, each stride slightly longer and quicker than the one before it. Fingers crossed to see how it reacts over the next few days. Glorified strides on the track tomorrow. Frigid conditions, wind made it truly miserable. Frozen fingers and especially thumbs.

Sat 1/14 - AM 75 minutes easy

Area 51. Slow putter through the woods, with a long break just after twenty minutes to check out an islet near the trail that I had seen many times but never visited. Low water level made it possible. Stretched out the calf at this break and a second shorter break at about 50 minutes. Relieved some of the stiffness that had built up each time. Not as windy as last night but still windy, with temps that are more typical of this time of year.