Wed 11/21 - PM 60 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Squeezed in a run as the shadows lengthened. Able to get in hill drills before sunset which was the intention from the get-go. Pace tailed off near the end, running low on energy at that point. Very relaxed throughout.

Tue 11/20 - PM 45 minutes

Area 51. Chose to keep it short today, not overly tired or anything but not feeling like doing anything longer or more involved. I considered running some 200s on the track but thought better of it and did short pickups on the way in instead. These felt pretty good, although right hammie remains stubbornly stuck. Warmer today during the day, although the temp of course dropped noticeably with the sunset.

Mon 11/19 - PM 65 minutes

Area 51. Happily, I didn't feel nearly as flat or sore as expected after yesterday. Started out at a mellow recovery pace which gradually sped up over the course of the run. Some tightness in right hammie but calves feel none the worse for wear. Pattern of cool days and chilly nights with little wind once the sun sets has continued for days now.

Sun 11/18 - AM 65 minutes incl. 5k road race

The fall sandbag series continues. Unable to resist the lure of the loot. I had felt some misgivings about toeing the line again after last weekend's draining experience in Portsmouth. All the driving across the state the past two days did nothing to ameliorate this. The cynical goal of today was to dip under the CR by as little as possible. I wasn't at all optimistic about this happening during the warmup, as I realized I should have accounted for the inevitable sea breeze when the course runs right along the shoreline. Flags snapping, mostly a crosswind but plenty of exposure to make it feel like a headwind both coming and going on the out and back layout. Not feeling that energetic either. All this created a fair amount of nervousness which got taken out on the first mile. Trying to stay relaxed and not overdo it I still went through in just over 5 minutes. Given that the course was almost dead flat I figured the time was in the bag so long as there was no blowup. Still concerned about the effect the wind would have so I continued to keep the pressure on the second mile which was more like 5:15. Realized with about 600 to go that I was going to be coming in well ahead of schedule. Slowed down a fair amount in the final run-in but not as much as I would have liked. Legs held up reasonably well to the effort, some stiffness in right hammie beforehand but nothing that bothered me during the race itself. Cooldown happened in two chunks, plenty of breaks to check out the local flavor.

Sat 11/17 - double, 60 minutes total

AM - 30 minutes very easy. Pre-breakfast shakeout in Northfield, rt. 10 to Merrifield road. Stiff and lethargic after a less than restful night in a hotel room that could double as a sauna. Meanwhile, awoke to frost everywhere.

PM - 30 minutes easy. Vague notions of doing hill drills but it wasn't happening. Fried after all the driving yesterday and today. Desperately in need of a good night's rest.