Fri 10/5 - PM 40 minutes

Progression run of sorts in Weston. Ash to Wellesley St, on to Chestnut then up and over Highland and back to the school. In the neighborhood of 6 miles. Started relatively relaxed although not exactly what I would call easy. Very gradually picked it up until reaching Highland when the effort increased more dramatically. Felt reasonably good although congestion continues and made breathing more of a chore than it needed to be. The gloomy overcast finally broke during the day, still a bit sticky but a much nicer afternoon to be outside than the past few days.

Thu 10/4 - PM 45 minutes very easy

Area 51. Exhausted, unsurprisingly. A bit late getting to bed last night the main culprit. Obligated to take a brief nap before heading out the door which only made me feel more out of it at the outset. Right hammie and left adductor sore from yesterday, but calf feels okay. Not as warm as yesterday but just as humid, drizzling and spitting rain most the day in fact. Dreary weather continues.

Wed 10/3 - PM 55 minutes incl. 4x(1000, 200)

Another post-kiddie meet quick hitter workout. Had my doubts about doing it right up until moments before the first repeat, with the right calf feeling swollen and sore after yesterday's hill drills. Definitely a mistake doing them. Cold is on the way out but congestion remains and of course copious amounts of snot, which made breathing more of a chore than it needed to be. Similar workout to a few weeks ago, only 1000 instead of 1200 for the long rep. 200 jog between the faster bits, for a 1600m total for each set. Decided after the first set to stop at 4, in deference to convalescent condition and late starting time. Took splits but didn't check them until afterward. I was surprised to see the numbers:

3:29/37.7
3:25/37.5
3:21.3/36.7
3:20.6/36.8

Not trying to cut the pace down like that but it certainly works. Humidity was horrendous all day, drizzling on and off.

Tue 10/2 - PM 65 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Not planning on running on the trails today but the opportunity presented itself, I would have been foolish to pass it up. Also not planning on doing hill drills, but I should have passed them up as the right calf is in no condition for that kind of thing right now. As it was, it stiffened up and right knee also sore afterward from altering the movement pattern. Rained most of the day incl. a good chunk of the run, but on the warm side.

Mon 10/1 - PM 55 minutes

Weston, to and from the neighborhood off Highland which has hills aplenty. Two times around a loop just longer than two miles, then a shorter loop before heading back. Between the tight calf and sleeping less than I would have liked thanks to nasal congestion I was expecting to feel like hell but it wasn't so bad at all. Not sure to what degree this was supposed to be a workout for the kiddies, as breaks were taken between each loop but the admonition was to take it easy. Which of course they didn't really do, at least the ones I was with. The "cooldown" back to the school was more of a distinct windup followed by the obligatory sprint through the parking lot. I suppose when you have all those sets of bench press to do, getting back quickly is of the essence. Pleasant afternoon with a bit of a breeze.

Sun 9/30 - PM 80 minutes very easy

Walden woods. Very ambivalent about doing anything today with the ongoing cold symptoms, incl. obnoxious congestion. Calf also very stiff. After a long afternoon nap, felt somewhat better. Decided to take a very easy jog in the woods, hoping it would clear the breathing passages without putting me under. After spending most of the last day in bed, I was also needed to get outside for at least a little while. The dissipation of the overcast gloom helped make this possible, much more favorable conditions than what we've been experiencing since Friday morning.

Sat 9/29 - AM 70 minutes incl. 10 mile road race

Not a fun experience between the ongoing cold symptoms, sore calf, and continued gross weather. Feeling listless from the moment I woke up, even though I slept better than expected given the sore throat that usually keeps me tossing and turning. Lack of motivation continued right up to the start of the race, as warmup was perfunctory at best. After cruising through last year's edition of this race at marathon pace and still winning with ease, I had hoped the field would be just as mediocre this time around but no dice. Ran as quick as I felt comfortable with to try and burn everyone off, still got passed at 3 miles ascending one of the gradual hills in the first half of the race. Gave up on winning right there and spent the rest of the race trying to hold onto second without killing myself or straining the calf. After getting through 6 miles in around 34 minutes, the next three miles were each over 6 minutes as the course turned uphill in earnest. Realized to my chagrin with 2k to go that I was being stalked, and even though it made absolutely no difference in the grand scheme of things, I picked up the pace drastically on the last mile to hold the guy off. The gradual downhill nature of that last mile makes it go by quickly no matter what but I ripped it off in 5:18. I wish I could say the previous slower miles were a tempo effort but given the elevation gain they certainly weren't. The amount of effort put forth wasn't immediately apparent, but when I tried to do a cooldown afterward I found it impossible to move at even a slow jog. Thus it became more walking than running. Went home as soon as humanly possible and took the first of two long afternoon naps. Calf felt stiff the rest of the day. I'm sure this will delay the full recovery from what currently ails me but hey, at least the NVGP is in the bag.