Fri 1/4 - PM 80 minutes easy

Out and back along the Charles with a 5-10 minute break at the turnaround. Started slowly, stayed that way for a time. Eventually pace picked up a bit on the return trip. Hamstring is indeed coming along better than I had reason to hope it would three days ago although still sore. Right calf felt tight and stiff however which was disappointing to say the least. Perhaps not stretching enough the past few days, who knows. Compared to the past two days it was milder today, although with the wind along the water I was wishing I had worn the facemask at times.

Thu 1/3 - 70 minutes very easy

Tiger Drive to Longfellow loop. Just what was needed in terms of spending time moving w/o putting undue stress on the convalescent left hamstring. Had to keep it very mellow throughout and stick with areas that were well-cleared of snow and ice. The leg has improved markedly from yesterday, the day off having the desired effect. Still not ready for prime time, hopefully by the beginning of next week perhaps. Continuing to put ice on it during the day for now. Very cold temps outside but thankfully almost no wind.

Wed 1/2 - off

A no-brainer after yesterday's trauma, although perhaps unbelievably (stupidly?) I was originally planning on some kind of superslow walk/jog just to get some gentle movement to hopefully flush out the hamstring a bit after getting a massage. As it turned out, between a lack of energy and bone-chilling cold conditions I had no desire whatsoever to head out the door upon getting home after the massage. Hamstring starting to feel better already after getting the work done, plus I put ice on it 5 or 6 times throughout the day.

Tue 1/1 - AM 60 minutes incl. 5k road race

Quite possibly a disaster as what was supposed to be a low-key sandbagging effort resulted in yet another muscle strain. This time, seemingly out of the blue, the left hammie went on me just after the mile mark, after doing a warmup, after doing drills, after spending most of the first mile of the race trying to get into some kind of rhythm after feeling quite flat and tired from the word go. In hindsight all the time spent in the snowshoes yesterday certainly played a role but at the time I was dumbfounded by it. Stubborn idiot that I am the thought of stopping didn't really occur to me and I continued to slog it out, no doubt aggravating the strain with each step. I was going only fast enough to keep the rest of the field at bay, but every penny of the prize money I earned (and then some) will be going towards a much-overdue massage in the near future. Crawled through a very gentle cooldown and then spent most of the rest of the afternoon poking and prodding the area of course. I even got out the icepack. Suddenly the right calf is only the second most pressing health concern, fantastic. Chilly morning with a brisk wind.

Mon 12/31 - AM 45 minutes easy

Taking it quite easy thanks to the early hour and of course, less than perfect traction on many of the roads in Maynard. Some stiffness in calf, not sure if it's DOMS from the race or from the jogging on slippery streets. In lieu of an afternoon jog, went for a snowshoe hike of epic proportions in the Walden woods. Covered as much ground as I would in a typical 70 minute run or so, incl. Devil's Staircase and Andromeda trail, but with the leisurely pace it took about 3 times as long as that. Cold feet but other than that an enjoyable time.

Sun 12/30 - double, 80 minutes easy total

AM - 40 minutes easy, Tiger Drive. Overnight white hell descended in all its fury. Enough depth of snow to effectively close the trails to running for the foreseeable future. Stayed on the streets that were more clear, given the typically atrocious job the Maynard DPW did plowing. Not as sore from yesterday as I would have expected, although calf is tight for sure. Not going anywhere near fast enough to aggravate it though.

PM - 40 minutes easy, Levittown. Somewhat worse footing than the morning run route. The realization became clear during the day that running on the streets is the new reality. After last year's non-winter winter this is not the most pleasant thing. The winter road loops are relatively safe but also quite boring. Chilly temps, windy all day but they were subsiding somewhat by the time I got started.

Sat 12/29 - AM 60 minutes incl. track mile

First track race in six months, first indoor track race in a lot longer, and first try at the mile in even longer than that. I think the last mile I raced was two years ago as part of a 3k/mile double. I was able to run within .08 of my seed time so a qualified success, although the all-important time to hit is 4:33. Spent most of the morning obsessing over the state of the calf and wondering if it would hold up to the strain after the past few days of quasi-setbacks thanks to slippery conditions. This gnawing worry lasted right until the gun went off in fact. However, it wasn't an issue during the race, although it did stiffen up some afterward. Right hammie also continues to be pinched, piriformis involved as well I think. The race itself was mostly metronomic. I'd like to think the last quarter was a little quicker but if so it wasn't by much. Immediately fell into a rhythm of 34.5-35 second laps. Given the nature of the competition (i.e. young and stupid for the most part) this meant I started near the back and found myself chasing only the leader with a lap to go. Got passed with 100 to go, not that it mattered as I was just trying to squeeze out a little more speed at that point. Hopefully the last lap was under 34. Woke up feeling kind of flat and not especially well-rested, caffeine helped with this but I can certainly put myself in a better position for the next try at this distance in 3 weeks. The fact that the next meet is on Sunday also helps.