Fri 6/8 - 60 minutes very easy plus 10 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Went to the woods instead of Area 51 with the vague idea of doing hill drills but legs were in no condition for it. Also almost as tired as yesterday afternoon, feeling quite strung out for the first 15 minutes or so of the run which was a shuffling crawl. Eventually things got a little better but energy still distressingly low overall. The big highlight of the day of course was getting back in the water, first dip of 2012. Predictably bracing which explains the brevity, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. For the third day in a row, afternoon rain although today it didn't take as long to pass through, with warmer temps returning quickly.

Thu 6/7 - PM 45 minutes very easy

Area 51. Desperately tired this afternoon, to the point that I took not one but two naps, one just before some food shopping on the way home from work and the other when I got home. Jet lagged, underrested, you name it. Paying the piper by any measure. Trying to dig myself out of the hole somewhat in time for Saturday, possibly a futile endeavor but we'll see. The only thing for it is easy jogging and trying to sleep more. Left hip/SI joint in a twisted stuck state thanks to yesterday's ill-advised workout. Spent a good long while rolling on the lax ball which helped but only so much. Breaks in the persistent overcast my mid-morning but the showers rolled through yet again during the afternoon. Just gross, although long gone by the time I hit the road.

Wed 6/6 - PM 60 minutes incl. 1600-1200-800-400

Really dumb choice of workout today. This being the one and only time to get something done before Saturday's race I got hung up on doing something that was resembling race pace. Ego-driven insecurity at its worst. If ever there was a day when I would have been well-served by something closer to threshold this would be it. In fact a short progression followed by some glorified strides would have been perfect. Instead I bulled my way through a much more intense session when already in a somewhat compromised state thanks to the recent travel and all the excursions that happened while I was on vacation last week. I certainly don't regret those epic run/hikes but I could have dealt with the aftermath better. On top of that, the first lap of the first rep was far far too fast, doing my level best to sabotage myself. Splits:

73.6/77.0/75.6/75.8 - 5:02
75.0/75.3/74.9 - 3:45.2
73.4/74.5 - 2:27.9
71.2

As in previous iterations of this session, recoveries went 4 minutes to 3 to 2. Not one step felt like anything other than a sprint requiring far too much effort to accomplish. Trying not to strain but doing a poor job of it. Quads no longer as sore but still heavy and lethargic, plus I've been laboring under the weight of exhaustion for a good while lately and not making much headway in doing anything substantial about it. To top it all off the weather absolutely sucked with cold showers that started the moment I headed outside. Enough with this crap already, it's been utter garbage since I stepped off the plane Sunday night.

Tue 6/5 - 60 minutes easy

Area 51. Came home to a long nap, longer than it should have been. I think I'll be dragging for days after the weekend's travel. Eventually got out the door and found major DOMS in both quads. I'm thinking that scramble up Cathedral Rock Saturday evening was piling on just a bit. An easy shakeout yesterday of even 20-30 minutes probably would have been a good thing. Hopefully the legs will come around for the weekend. To try and get them loosened up a bit more, did a few cautious (i.e. slow) strides on the way in.

Mon 6/4 - off

The travel exhaustion bubble bursting. Drove across Arizona, then flew across the U.S., then waited for my luggage to emerge from a stuck carousel at 12:30 AM, finally getting home around 2. Despite having the day off from work and nothing but time, unable and frankly unwilling to get a run in. The weather didn't help any, absolutely dismal with a lovely June nor'easter stuck in the area.

Sun 6/3 - AM 55 minutes very easy

Campbell Mesa. Last run in FLG in what has been an action-packed vacation. All the excursions and travel left me feeling more than a little frazzled this morning of course, so took it easy and ended up cutting back on the length of the run as well. Quads feeling stiff, more of that to come in all likelihood.

Sat 6/2 - 4 hour run/hike, Humphreys Peak

Set off on the Humphreys Peak trail a bit uneasy as I didn't have a fully-formed idea of what I'd do upon getting to the saddle. Originally, I had thought about going up the Kachina trail to the southern end of Weatherford. In hindsight this would have been far too much so I'm glad I went with the shorter route to the saddle at 11,800'. Once there, I decided to go along the Weatherford from its northern end, for as long as I felt like, before turning back. This ended up being a relatively short but scenic stretch. At that point I started feeling peak lust, a bit surprising since going to the top wasn't something I had originally planned. Went back to the saddle and on to the peak from there, more running than I expected to do on this final stretch. After a good sit at the summit, zoomed back down. The last few wide sweeping switchbacks below treeline seemed to drag on forever, but overall this excursion was quite manageable, finished feeling fairly fresh. I did roll my left ankle on the descent but recovered quickly enough to avoid major damage. Windy of course, but clear and sunny for as pleasant a day as you're going to get. Some haze from the wildfires in the area which cut down on the view regrettably.

 posing at the saddle

 ridgeline to summit

 this way to summit

 Weatherford

 more Weatherford

 summit view, continued in pics below

trail down from the summit

In the evening, I decided to head down to Cathedral Rock for a sunset viewing. Alas, I underestimated how long it would take to get there from Flag (note to self, it's about an hour) and arrived at the trailhead just as the sun was about to disappear beyond the horizon. What followed was me rushing my way up to the top when I had planned on a leisurely hike. Definitely not what the doctor ordered after the morning's effort, and left me somewhat frazzled upon reaching the top. Spent a good while there as the light faded, used the headlamp to get back down, at a much more sedate pace. 

 Bell Rock in the distance

Oak Creek Valley

Fri 6/1 - double, 80 minutes total incl. 11x200, 300

AM - 35 minutes very easy. Morning shakeout doubling as an errand run to and from the store. Tired after yesterday's long hike followed by driving back to FLG.

PM - 45 minutes with repeat 200s on the FHS track. As much science experiment as workout. Legs just a bit flat after all the trips into the hinterland the past few days. Plus there's the altitude to consider of course. Sticking with the shorter stuff like on Monday, this time the standby repeat 200s with rotating 300-200-100 recoveries. I knew after the fourth rep I'd be cutting the workout short, a no-brainer. Most of the reps were between 37 and 38, with the final 300 (to make it an even 12 laps total) just over 56. Recovery times quite consistent, 300 a bit under 80, 200 around 53, 100 @ 27. Stronger wind than Monday's workout on the same track, given the nature of the workout I was able to configure it such that I had more of a tailwind on 2/3 of the reps but still a chore. Finished feeling quite tired from the entire day.