Fri 2/17 - PM 50 minutes easy

Area 51. Textbook case of "Friday tired." Initially planned on getting in a run before sunset on the trails in Concord, realized after rushing to get there in time (after being forced to stick around at work far far longer than I ever should have) that I had no motivation to do anything before taking a nap. Went home from there, so frazzled the nap was a one eye open affair. Finally got out the door for a jog close to 7 PM. Took it easy throughout, needless to say.

Thu 2/16 - PM 85 minutes very easy

Lincoln woods. Legs predictably sore, esp. right hammie/adductor which feels mildly strained. What weighed me down more out there today was overall underlying fatigue, what with a string of long days on the job doing donkey work making many back and forth trips. Knew right from the get-go the pace wouldn't be at all impressive. Grey and gloomy all day, threatening rain in the afternoon but it never got past a drizzle.

Wed 2/15 - PM 60 minutes incl. 4k progression, 10x200

First track workout since the latest comeback from the calf travails. Since it had been feeling tight during the day the past two days I had some concern, but no issues at the pace I was going. Originally this was going to be straight leg prep, decided to make it a mixed session instead. Original plan was to start the 4k at a reasonable and modest 90 sec/lap and cut it down a couple of seconds at each kilo. With no sense of pace whatsoever, I instead hit the first 200 in 43, 400 in 87, and decided to start the cutdown from there. Which meant finishing at 80, which was almost but not quite biting off more than I could chew. Km splits of 3:37.2, 3:33.3, 3:26.6, 3:20.5. Focused on staying relaxed and not overdoing it, as ever. After this, 5.5 minute jog recovery then into "glorified strides" or so I was telling myself. Hitting the button but not checking numbers until afterward, trying to run on feel and keep from going over the line. Interestingly and happily, both the reps and the recovery intervals of the last five were all faster than anything from the first five. First five 37.4-38.1, recoveries avg 65, second five 36.9-37.3, recoveries avg. 61. Relatively short warmup and cooldown.

Tue 2/14 - PM 80 minutes

Lincoln woods. Started out relatively slow, but moving better than yesterday from the outset. Legs feeling much better thankfully. Picked up the pace the last 15 minutes but not to a huge extent. Left calf has tightened up some the past two days, likely from wearing the trail shoes, but it's still in a much better place than it has been of late. Warmer today than yesterday, the aberrant normal for this winter.

Mon 2/13 - PM 85 minutes easy/very easy

Lincoln woods. Puttering the whole way on stiff legs. More sore than I anticipated from yesterday, both high hammies especially so. Did some modest mobility drills post run to try and loosen them up and range of motion wasn't much. Warmer today but still windy, albeit from a different direction--WSW again bringing warmer air yet again.

Sun 2/12 - AM 75 minutes incl. 12k threshold run

Longfellow loop. Cold day with a bitter NW wind, not exactly ideal. Planned on doing the first loop slower than it actually went, made for less of a progression--that is to say, no progression--from first to second loop. Picked it up a bit on the third, by then starting to edge out of threshold territory despite the modest pace. Not complaining though, happy to be able to complete this type of session in the first place. Not sure exactly how, but the calf has gone from ready to snap at any moment to a non-issue in a week or so. Still feeling the odd mild twinge here and there but it seems to be holding up fine to the resumption of actual workouts. Left hammie pinched at times, SI joint remains somewhat stiff but that's the extent of it. Splits:

5:58.0/5:59.6/2:52.4
5:56.5/6:01.7/2:53.1
5:55.0/5:54.6/2:49.7

Sat 2/11 - AM 1:40 easy

Track Road to Sudbury Road and on to Area 51. Still feeling somewhat lethargic, took a while to get going beyond a putter. Happily, the calf behaved as it did yesterday i.e. I didn't notive any tightness in it early on and whatever stiffness was there felt minor. Ankle still stiff and sore lower down, but that's far less worrisome in the grand scheme of things. Took a long break just past the hour mark at the visitor center, after having dropped the pace steadily over the previous 15 minutes. Upon restarting went right back to slow jogging and stayed there the rest of the way. Still relatively mild, some breeze but once again I found myself overdressed.