Fri 7/13 - PM 50 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Fried, in more ways than one. Not especially surprised to be feeling less than spry right from the get-go, given the fact that I've forced the issue somewhat in training since the Loon race. Not in any obvious way but the beat marches on. Combined with the dew point's inevitable and unwelcome rise, made for low motivation. Happily I had planned on cutting back on the volume and intensity today, basically jogged to the pond, in the pond, then back. No windup, no strides, no nothing but jogging. The weather looks to be more typically awful the next 4-6 days after a run of blessedly dry weather. Thin overcast today kept the temp from being too high but the muggies were out in force.

Thu 7/12 - PM 80 minutes plus 22 minutes in Walden

Aiming for something with more of a windup today. Certainly started out slowly enough, the build was gradual for the first half hour or so. After that moving better until stopping at the pond just before the hour mark. The last 25 minutes post-dip started easy for 10 minutes then brought the pace down for the rest. Overall felt pretty good, apart from tightness in right hammie. Hot today but the dewpoint has stayed at a relatively comfortable level, I was expecting worse. SW breeze picked up as the afternoon progressed which suggests the forecast for muggies will come to pass.

Wed 7/11 - PM 65 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Triumphant return of hill drills today, as I was sufficiently confident that I wouldn't strain my calf doing them. Felt it more in the left heel than right calf actually. As for the run started slow, pace built up gradually until 50 minutes or so. To top it off, a few short pickups (glorified strides) on the way in from the pond. Yesterday and today have been nicer than one could hope for, sunny but dry, regrettably dewpoint is supposed to rise in the nest few days.

Tue 7/10 - PM 85 minutes plus 24 minutes in Walden

Planning on going longer today, but the 90 minute barrier seems to be about my limit. Not overly tired, although the pace was quite easy at the start. Gradually picked up until about the hour mark before backing off. Right calf somewhat stiff but for now at least, the threat of a full-blown strain seems minimal. The pond is now officially tepid, still refreshing but not bracing like it was last month.

Mon 7/9 - PM 75 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Took it easy from the get-go today, a no-brainer after the weekend. Still tired of course but able to get to bed a bit earlier than normal, at the expense of stretching last night. Felt decent for much of the run until near the end when the right TFL seized up on me. No doubt the strain placed on the area yesterday helped bring this on. Stopped to do some compressions on it right there, which enabled me to get back to the parking lot, then some time on the foam roller later on in the evening which was painful but productive. Right leg in general has been tweaked for over a month now, one thing or another (sometimes more than one thing) strained, sore, or both. Quite warm but not that humid, nice conditions overall.

Sun 7/8 - double, 1:40 total incl. mountain race plus 15 minutes in Walden

AM - Loon Mountain race. Went better than my previous visit to this neck of the woods a few weeks back but still nothing to write home about. Completely incapable of getting a decent night's sleep right now, more so than usual even, which increases the degree of difficulty. The problem as ever is getting to bed too late. Approached the race more conservatively this time which worked out a lot better. While the field was much much less competitive than Mt. Washington, it was somewhat gratifying to be able to pass people as the race progressed instead of the other way around. The course wasn't quite what I expected, a couple of short downhill stretches and some flat in addition to the massively-hyped descent at 4 miles. That descent didn't treat me well at all, not willing to risk breaking and ankle for this or any other event. The final km of the course on the even more massively hyped upper walking boss trail was about what I expected. It was odd to be on an incline so steep walking was about the same speed as running. Apparently the course was shortened this year and usually it goes back down the slope before climbing again to the other main peak of the ski area. Combined with the shitty prizes they gave out, this info about the course tacking on another steep descent to an "all uphill" race will keep me from coming back. Nice day with a cold front passing through.

PM - 30 minutes very easy plus 15 minutes in Walden. Just an easy shakeout in theory, except I was so exhausted I could barely move. At least the weather was nice for a dip. 

Sat 7/7 - AM 60 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Morning shakeout before heading up north. Took a good while to get going after going to another seemingly endless baseball game last night. Seemed like a good idea when I got the tickets.