Fri 2/24 - PM 45 minutes easy

Area 51. As expected, feeling rather exhausted with the end of the workweek, "Friday tired" for sure. Combined with abysmal weather, cold rain, made for a totally forgettable run. On top of that, right hammie and hip flexor pinched and tight, responded fairly well to compressions afterward.

Thu 2/23 - PM 90 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Very relaxed effort throughout, with a longish break halfway through at Devil's Staircase. Calves finally coming around from Sunday's race. Still feeling underlying tiredness, not as pronounced as yesterday though. Clear day but with a gusty breeze which kept things relatively chilly.

Wed 2/22 - PM 60 minutes incl. 8x 3 minute pickups

Levittown. Still feeling it from Sunday, both in the calves and overall in terms of fatigue. Previously planned to do timed 800s on the Longfellow loop, but the tiredness made me go with something based solely on effort instead of hitting a pace number instead. While warming up I had my doubts about the wisdom of trying to do any kind of workout at all, but gave it a go nonetheless with 3 on/1 off. Earlier in the day I had notions of doing 10 reps, but after the fifth one I could feel the effort starting to flag and I knew 8 would be the limit. Felt like I was slowing a bit over the last 3 reps, either that or the same pace was requiring more of an effort. Calves sore throughout, right one remains surprisingly stiff and in the back of my mind I feel like it could go on me if I'm not careful. Warm conditions during the day but with a persistent wind, difficult to judge what to wear so of course I overdressed.

Tue 2/21 - PM 85 minutes easy

Walden woods. Legs feel fine from the knee up, calves still sore though. Better than yesterday thankfully, but took it easy regardless. Somewhat better the last third of the run as well. Brief mobility drills both before and after, which I have to think helps to some degree. Noticeable breeze when I started out, which was gone by the time the run was done.

Mon 2/20 - PM 40 minutes very easy

Main St. to Levittown. Seriously considered taking a zero today, decided it might lead to worse DOMS down the road. Plenty of MS to begin with from yesterday, calves in particular. Right one tighter than the left, almost to the point that it felt it might go if I overdid it, not that there was any chance whatsoever of that happening. Took forever to get out the door. Got five minutes down the road before realizing I had forgotten the headlamp, which took Area 51 off the table as a destination. The flat smooth roads of Levittown a better choice anyway.

Sun 2/19 - AM 85 minutes total incl. 10m road race

Supremely frustrating despite a favorable result, esp. compared to the last time I ran this course two years ago. Hoping to run around 5:40 pace or so, mindful of the lost fitness from all the recent issues with the left calf. Started out under control, and after a little over a mile I had found someone to follow for wind protection. Soon we were joined by two others and with the pace feeling sustainable, I thought I had a good shot at maintaining the effort throughout. Then my fucking shoelace came untied, a first for the shoes and lace type I was wearing. No choice but to stop and tie it just after 4 miles. I lost a lot more than the 8 seconds or so it took to tie it, as my wind protection went chugging on down the road. Thought I would be able to reel them in within the next mile, wishful thinking of course. I ended up bringing the back of the group to within 15 meters or so but no closer, all while fighting a headwind during miles 5 and 6. By then the group had split and they were all running alone, but I had put too much into trying to catch up and wasn't able to pick off any stragglers. It's difficult to adequately express how frustrating this was. With less than 800m left, I tried to make one final move to close on the closest, who wasn't that far ahead at the time, but I felt the calf start to twinge and immediately backed off. Otherwise I would have been 8-10 seconds quicker the last mile. Overall the pace was fairly consistent, if not exactly impressive. I even negative splitted the thing. The eighth mile, which buried me two years ago, wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered it. 15 minute cooldown. The wind was a definite factor, coming out the NNW all day, other than that not as cold as feared. Splits:

5:37
5:40
5:47
5:47
5:45 (includes taking a break to tie shoes)
5:39
5:42
5:45 (most substantial of the rolling hills)
5:34 (flat and trying desperately to regain contact)
5:40

Sat 2/18 - AM 70 minutes easy

Area 51. Still feeling it from the overall tiredness of the work week. As a result motivation faltered late in the run, with multiple stops to look at the nature incl. a long break at the visitor center. Pushed the pace too hard early on, had to correct this a few times during the course of the run as I kept getting ahead of myself and forcing it. Fairly cold with an annoying NW wind.