Fri 9/21 - PM 30 minutes

Two 15 minute chunks in the dark on and around Main St. in Fishkill, as boring a spot as it gets. Shakeout after a long drive, though thankfully not quite as long as the same drive a year ago in pounding rain. Much cooler and drier this time around. Calf feels tight and right ankle vaguely locked after all the sitting at the gas pedal all afternoon.

Thu 9/20 - PM 65 minutes easy

Area 51. Dead on my feet after a long day. Thought I might run with the kiddies but they weren't doing much running and I arrived late to their practice. Waited until getting home instead. Started slow and probably got slower. Right calf tight and stiff but no real twinges. Cool enough that I went with a long sleeve shirt and didn't regret it.

Wed 9/19 - PM 60 minutes incl. 12-10-8-6-4 minute pickups

Another post-kiddie meet workout session around the Weston athletic fields run entirely on feel. Went with a cutdown in order to get as much time at LT pace done as possible in a given time frame. Feeling flat and tired going in, not exactly relishing the prospect of putting forth any kind of hard effort. In addition, right calf tight and stiff all day at work, feeling more and more like a mild strain. Soldiered on anyway, starting the first repeat after a 7 minute jog warmup. Tried to gradually increase the pace as the end of each rep got closer. Hard to say how successful this was but it felt like it anyway. Recoveries of 4, 3, 2, and 1 minute, kept them short as much to keep things moving along as for any hifalutin physiological reason. As the workout wore on, I warmed to the task and it felt like the pace was picking up from rep to rep. The only glitch was an aggravation of the calf while running around a corner on an uneven cambered surface, felt it twinge and cursed the damn thing for still being problematic. A lurking potential issue from here on out it would appear. Conditions very nice once again, happening as it did in the gathering twilight with the temp starting to drop under mostly clear skies. Much better than the humid mess I was expecting.

Tue 9/18 - PM 40 minutes easy

Area 51. Feeling very tired today, more so than expected. Thought I'd run with the kiddies, that didn't come off. Ended up heading home and taking a nap before heading out. Right calf tight to the point of distraction and remained so for the length of the run. A souvenir of the weekend double I'm afraid. Still able to do some strides, but I made sure not to overdo it on speed or length. Muggy warm conditions all day, some showers in the middle of the day but the worst of the rain hadn't arrived yet by the time I hit the trail.

Mon 9/17 - PM 80 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Easy putter in the woods, much needed and appreciated after the weekend's racing. No kiddies' practice for me today so I was able to slide back in to the comfortable summer routine, although the dry comfortable conditions and longer shadows made it clear that summer is in the rearview for all intents and purposes. That routine included a pre-run nap, first one of those in a while which left me loopy for the first 10 minutes or so of the run. Eventually woke up but didn't speed up much if at all. Right leg took the brunt of the past two days, calf tight and hammie twinging. Pond getting cooler but still accessible, still receding as well.

Sun 9/16 - AM 70 minutes incl. 10k road race

Completed the back half of the weekend double in one piece, but something the worse for wear. Arrived with little time to spare for warmup, not particularly motivated either. Realized on the starting line there was only one person to worry about as far as competition goes. Tried to sit on that person and stay relaxed, but the pace was too fast for me to sustain in the second half of the race. Splits reflect this neatly, first 3 miles just under 16:00, lost contact and gave up the chase in the fourth mile (5:40), and proceeded to pack it in for reals the last two miles (11:40). I wish I could say those last two miles felt like a jog but not so much. This same double treated me better last year, but I think the combination of staying up far too late Thursday and overdoing it yesterday set me up for the fade today. In the end it didn't matter any in terms of loot. Sunny and breezy morning, seemed like the wind was constantly in our faces which is to be expected when the course is on the ocean's edge. Cooldown a very easy 20 minute jog back and forth on the beach, just me and the dozens of dogs swarming the place.

Sat 9/15 - double, 2 hours total plus 16 minutes in Walden

AM - 75 minutes incl. Maynard road race. The joys of doing an event that starts a block from my doorstep, never gets old. I vastly overestimated the potential threat posed by the nearest competition, as a result blew through the first mile much faster than necessary. Before the race I came up with the brilliant idea of turning the second half of the race into a 30 second surge/float exercise, thinking this would keep me from overdoing it. While I did indeed do the 30 second thing it was in hindsight more exhausting than simply cruising it in which is what I should have done. Some twinging in high right hammie in the last mile could also be ascribed to the surging. Course a little shorter than last year's version, not that it matters. Warmup and cooldown both about a 30 minute easy jog in the edges of Area 51. Plagued by stomach issues while warming up which required repeated trips to the bathroom, to a disturbing degree in fact. Sunny and pleasant morning, not as humid as yesterday.

PM - 45 minutes very easy plus 16 minutes in Walden. Took the direct route to the boat ramp, starting from the commuter lot unlike yesterday. Very low key effort after the race in the morning, with another race coming up very soon. Cool and dry evening.