Sat 12/21 - double, 75 minutes total

AM - 45 minutes incl. mile track race. Ran reasonably well for 7 laps, cratered on the 8th. Splits:

69 (just under 34 for first lap)
72
73
76 (last lap 39)
4:50 total

No idea what to expect coming in, but something along these lines was definitely a possibility. All I knew for sure was that I'm not as fit now as I was a year ago for my season opener then. After a warmup that was nothing if not thorough, started out well if a little bit too fast. Felt things starting to slow by halfway and I knew my laughably optimistic seed time of 4:40 would be a bridge too far. Still thought I could control the deceleration such that the final time would be in the mid 4:40s. Made a move approaching 1000m that in hindsight was massively ill-advised, should have stayed put and tried to continue following the person I was behind at that time. Even at the 3/4 mark, I figured I'd be able to hang on and nip under the time of the last mile race I did back in July. However the bill came due the last 300 and especially the last lap and the wheels fell off. A couple of awkward stumbles in fact as I nearly lost my balance on the turns. I'm hopeful that I can improve my fitness level from where it is now to where I think it has to be for the old fart olympics in February. The hamstring only indirectly to blame for all this, in that it prevented me from doing the kind of threshold work I had done in the fall of 2012. That type of base fitness, impossible to acquire through merely jogging in the woods, is sorely lacking right now. Whatever fancy physiological term is used for it what's needed now is the ability to be more economical at faster speeds. The first lap felt surprisingly controlled for being a bit on the quick side, so it's not like the turnover is non-existent. Cooldown was minimal as I went directly from the meet to the game afterward. Right leg feeling as good as it has for a while.

PM - 30 minutes very easy, Fresh Pond. Continuation of the cooldown in effect. Leg stiffened up after sitting and walking around downtown Boston the bulk of the afternoon. The run itself a dreary sloppy mess, with warmer temps the snowpack is wasting away and puddles everywhere including some stretching the entire width of the path.