Fri 12/14 - PM 55 minutes

Area 51. Took some time to get out the door, typical Friday fatigue. Moving better than yesterday, which isn't saying that much. Short pickups on the way in as well. Hamstring feeling much less restricted. Calf feeling no better though, the spasm holds on tenaciously. Trying to do more stretching during the day at work to counteract the tightness overall. Chilly but with no real wind to speak of.

Thu 12/13 - PM 50 minutes very easy

Relaxed glacially slow putter along the Charles. Right hammie stuck pretty firmly after yesterday, calf stiff of course. Shuffling along, very little range of motion really for at least the first half hour. Somewhat milder than yesterday, fair weather holding steady for now.

Wed 12/12 - PM 55 minutes incl. 3x1600, 4(200,100)

Not the most impressive of track sessions, but it'll have to do given the context. In favoring the calf during the day walking around, I strained or wrenched the TFL and IT band on that side, such that I had to get on the foam roller for 10 minutes as soon as I got home. This helped a great deal but it was still twinging during the warmup and a couple of "off" steps during the workout itself resulted in lovely shooting pains over the trochanter. Had to focus on keeping a short tight stride cycle. Chilly conditions, hardly any wind thankfully but temps cold enough that I was as bundled up as I'll ever be for a track workout in tights and multiple layers up top. Not feeling especially energetic, looking to get a mixed workout of threshold followed by turnover. The 1600s were all negative split but wholly mediocre in terms of time, 5:32 followed by a pair of 5:29s. Each one started with a lap in the 85 second range, running on feel to start and this is what smooth controlled relaxed cruising felt like. Pushing it down to 80 or so on the last lap was another level entirely, alas. Less control and more breathing hard. 300m jog between each rep, followed by a 6 minute or so break before doing 4 sets of shorter faster stuff. 300 jog after each 200, 200 jog after each 100 such that each set was two laps total. Splits:

35.6/17.8
35.5/17.7
35.9/17.8
35.4/17.7

the uniformity is suggestive of the fact that I couldn't have gone much faster without coming apart at the seams. Recovery intervals were just as consistent, although a bit slower on the final set. Happily the calf held together through all this, only mild twinges during the second 1600. The left one was a bit sore after the workout though.

Tue 12/11 - PM 70 minutes

Area 51. Moving better than expected much of the way. Did some short pickups on the way in. Calf still stiff, more so after the run than during but holding it together. Wind subsided with the sunset which made the conditions a lot more comfortable.

Mon 12/10 - double, 75 minutes easy

AM - 35 minutes easy, Area 51. No work today thanks to the car being in the shop. After yesterday's effort, hoping to nurse the calf along with jogging. Plenty of direct pressure and cross fiber friction on it afterward. Fairly late start, took a while to drag myself out of bed.

PM - 40 minutes, Area 51. Started easy, eventually pace quickened a bit. Calf is tight of course but overall felt a little better than I thought it would after yesterday. Still a mess though. Not exactly the most heroic double ever, but the late start for the morning run meant a late start for this run as well. Warmer in the evening than it was in the morning with mild air coming through during the day. Lots of ground fog.

Sun 12/9 - AM 60 minutes incl. 5k road race

The 2012 sandbagging season comes to a close. Busier than it probably should have been but I'm unable to resist the lure of cheaply earned prize money and merch. Having won this race at a canter the past two years I was hoping for a repeat but it wasn't to be. It only takes one and one showed up, became clear by the mile mark that he wasn't going anywhere. By about halfway a gap of a couple of seconds was established. I harbored hopes of rallying on the gradual hill just after 2 miles, but didn't reel him in nearly enough and ended up getting stomped on in the last 400m. The fastest I've run on this course and likely the fastest I'll ever do. Calf hung in there well enough after feeling stiff on the warmup slipping on wet leaves and rocks in the Stony Brook trails. Didn't notice it during the race though and not acting up on me too badly during the cooldown. However, progressively stiffened up over the rest of the afternoon. Relatively mild temperatures, some wind but not a determining factor.

Sat 12/8 - AM 55 minutes easy

Area 51. Yet another jog in the woods, given I'm unable to do much else given the state of the right calf. Feels like it's getting somewhat better, worked on some pretty notable adhesions last night, but at the same time the difference between how the right and left feel is notable. And quite frustrating. Had vague notions of running again in the evening but similar to recent weekends, lost all interest and motivation following an afternoon nap. Had to wait out passing showers before heading out the door, gray and damp morning.