Fri 12/7 - PM 60 minutes very easy

Lincoln woods. Quite the gloomfest between the gathering darkness (earliest sunset of the year I believe), rain that was just starting to fall, Friday fatigue, and of course the right calf which hasn't responded well to Wednesday's workout. Theoretically I was going to do hill drills today or tomorrow but it's become clear they need to be shelved for the time being. Pace petered out to a near crawl near the last 15 minutes or so. Lots of direct pressure and cross fiber friction on the calf afterward.

Thu 12/6 - PM 70 minutes easy

Area 51. Predictably tired and sore, calf feeling frayed and vulnerable with pretty much every step. A real treat. Battery in my headlamp went out while on White Pond road in the refuge proper, which meant I had to stick to roads the rest of the run. The wind that plagued me yesterday was gone, but colder temps as well. Pace slowed toward the end if anything.

Wed 12/5 - PM 60 minutes incl. 8x1000

A slog. Feeling much more flat and tired than I had expected to, took a while to get out the door. Calf felt better after the work I did on it the past two days but still not close to being right. To top things off, the weather turned with the mild air mass pushed out during the morning, and colder drier conditions taking its place. With this of course was a persistent NNW wind that as ever, picked up in intensity as the workout progressed. In light of all these factors, made a conscious effort not to overdo it early on with the pace. The splits reflected this, as in they were slooow:

3:31.2
3:30.5
3:29.9
3:32.1
3:28.3
3:27.3
3:26.7
3:26

all the rest intervals were just under a minute until the last one. Even though I arranged it such that the wind was at my back on three of the five straightaways of each rep, having to cut through it on the other two more than made up for it and got extremely tiresome the second half of the workout. As I figured it would, the calf got fatigued by the end and was starting to twinge on the very slow and short cooldown.

Tue 12/4 - PM 75 minutes easy

Area 51. Nice recovery run, felt better by the end than I did at the start which was the hope going in. Calf in particular loosened up a great deal. The conditions were quite mild and favorable, would have been nice to sneak in a workout of some kind but I'm not nearly ready for it after Sunday's race. Tomorrow promises to be less hospitable for such things but no choice really.

Mon 12/3 - PM 55 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Dragged the stiff and tight calf through a set of ill-advised drills on Pine Hill, which was not the best idea in hindsight. More direct pressure and compressions afterward of course. This will certainly circumscribe what I'll be able to accomplish in training this winter, yippee. Feeling quite flat as well, which kept the pace slow throughout. Very mild conditions with mostly clear skies, enough clouds on the horizon to create a postcard sunset as I was nearing the end of the run.

Sun 12/2 - AM 60 minutes incl. 5k road race

In a downcast mood going in to this stop on the endless sandbag tour thanks to the calf, which I was concerned about reaggravating. Successfully able to whistle past the graveyard in that regard, although I could feel it start to stiffen up on the cooldown. The race itself was more of a breeze than I thought, took the lead around 800m, had a good size lead by halfway and spent the rest of the time playing keep away with the occasional semi-surge but mostly trying to float with the minimum effort required. Mile splits of 5:03, 5:08, and 5:12. Course was totally flat, to an impressive degree with no wind to speak of. With temps warming through the morning the conditions were actually close to ideal which explains the fast time.

Sat 12/1 - AM 50 minutes easy

Area 51. Yet another easy run in the woods, although I was able to do strides near the end without further aggravating the calf. I'm becoming somewhat obsessed with it, to put it mildly. More direct pressure after the run which certainly helps but only goes so far. I may even break out the ice pack soon which is a modality I should be using far more than I do. Awoke to snow on the ground, of course adding another layer of worry given the potential for slipping around. Avoided any catastrophes in that regard though. Chilly and dank all morning.