Fri 1/11 - PM 55 minutes incl. 880 time trial

A mistake to try this, but unable to stop myself from doing it regardless. Ego-driven insecurity at its finest. The pain in the butt on the right side has become the new quasi-injury obsession and it affected everything. More icing of it during the day at work. Took a good long warmup, 20+ minutes outside with another 10 indoors. While it felt somewhat stuck at the start of the warmup I felt like it was getting somewhat better as time wore on. Still, felt it necessary to roll on a lax ball repeatedly between warmup and drills and then again between drills and 4x110 strides. The time trial itself was a dud, originally when I had set my sights on doing this a couple weeks back the plan was to run five laps close to 2:50. A pipe dream under the current circumstances though, between the leg and feeling the usual end of workweek fatigue. Scaled back expectations to an 880 in the 2:16-18 range, ended up running 2:19.3. Blasted through the first 440 in just over 67 seconds and felt my arms and legs start to wither quite suddenly. The last 330 was nothing but a chore. Thought about stopping at three laps but decided to give it one more go-round, slightly faster on the last lap compared to the third. Immediately afterward my first thought was I was too tired to put my best foot forward, but as I jogged around on an easy cooldown feeling the glute go steadily into lockdown it became clear there was more at work than just being flat. It feels like the crux of the problem is with the high hamstring attachment, and all the tightness and stiffness around this is just from favoring and compensating. I fear that the slip on the patch of ice last Saturday evening did more to the right hammie than I had realized. Not sanguine at all about how things will go going forward. Third year in a row I've been incapable of staying healthy through December and January, each year a different variation on the same tired theme. I fucking hate winter.

Thu 1/10 - PM 70 minutes easy

Briefly in Levittown, over to Tiger Drive via Summerhill, on to Longfellow loop. The right hammie/glute that was utterly stuck yesterday feeling better today but far from 100%. It did feel better at the end of the run than the beginning which is a hopeful sign. Able to do some short pickups around the hour mark but the first couple were quite awkward. Icing has helped, in addition to rolling on the lax ball to soften up a very tight piriformis. Still an uphill battle getting this thing back. I'm fairly certain now I strained it slipping on the ice last Saturday, but was so focused on what was happening with the left leg that it escaped notice at the time. Left knee scrape still hasn't scabbed over either. Supposedly warmer air is upon us but a gusty NW wind made it feel chilly enough.

Wed 1/9 - PM 55 minutes easy

Levittown. Tired and sore from yesterday, but most especially the right high hammie/glute/piriformis et al. that made this run literally a pain in the butt. Right side stiff and locked up from beginning to end, in fact from before even starting as I had to do some foam rolling upon getting home from work just to work out the stiffness in the IT area. More of that after the run and plenty more poking and prodding besides. Probably too much of it but who knows. Hard to imagine it feeling significantly better to be able to get back on the track Friday but we'll see. Did two rounds of icing with more to come tomorrow. Left ankle not an issue at all what with wearing thicker soled shoes. Milder temps for this time of year but a gusty breeze made it somewhat uncomfortable at the start.

Tue 1/8 - PM 60 minutes incl. 4x1100y, 2(440,330,220,110)

A mixed platter of threshold and more turnover-oriented stuff, at least in theory. In practice it was something of a chore thanks mainly to right hammie being a stiff stuck mess. Whatever I did to it on Saturday when I hit the deck, the stiffness spread into the glute and piriformis. Made for a somewhat reduced range of motion and more effort than it should to run a given pace as a result. I have to think the hike on Sunday might have left its mark. To top things off, I strained the medial left ankle doing strides before starting the workout, basically overpronating on deceleration. Sharp pain that I was able to deal with by modifying the stride but had me quite nervous. This particular thing has happened in the past wearing thin-soled shoes in the woods, no doubt a factor here as well.

As for the actual workout, I originally had thought of running a couple six-lappers to start. Decided while warming up that maybe three 1000s (1100y on the imperial track) instead would be more substantial. That line of thinking led to four reps instead of three. Ideally they would have been more of a progression than what actually happened, which was fairly metronomic pace. All four within a second of 3:20, with a lap jog between in just under a minute. Changed into spikes while taking a 6+ minute break for two sets of 4-3-2-1 with 3-2-1 jog. Splits:

70.4 (80.6 jog)
53.2 (53 jog)
35.4 (29 jog)
17.5
5:39 total

4.5 minute rest

70.3 (?? button issues)
?? (54 jog)
36.4 (28 jog)
17.6
5:43 total
the 300 jog and subsequent 300 took 2:16

The first 400 felt barely under control, trying to run around 72 after how clunky the legs felt during the first part of the workout. Staggered through the recovery jog. The numbers show quite definitively that there were no gears available beyond the one I was using in the 400, hitting that pace throughout more or less. The second time around felt like I was flogging a dead horse, discretion might have been the better part of valor at that point but I couldn't help myself. Jog/crawl for 12 minutes with right thigh up to my butt stiffening up all the while.

Mon 1/7 - PM 60 minutes easy

Tiger Drive to Longfellow loop. After yesterday's hike on the superbly packed snow of Mt. Misery I got a little trail crazy and seriously considered giving Area 51 a go. A quick visit on the way home from work made me reconsider this, as the snow there is too lumpy even where well-trodden, esp. in the dark. Found the legs to be stiffer than expected and less energy overall, of course this is also a result of the long hike yesterday. Did strides on the way in down Waltham St. which felt awkward and clunky thanks to right hip/TFL being tight. Worked on it some afterward with the lacrosse ball, not sure how effective it was. Still very tight.

Sun 1/6 - double, 75 minutes easy

AM - 30 minutes very easy. In a bit of an upset, it's the right leg that's more bothersome than the left after last night's collision with the pavement. No doubt because the right leg is the one that slipped, but the stiff sore high hamstring was even more pronounced on this easy jog. Road rash wound on the left knee is exactly the sloppy weeping mess I figured it would be.

PM - 45 minutes easy, Tiger Drive to Longfellow loop. Between the runs today was another hike in the Lincoln woods, this time around Mt. Misery and without snowshoes, using yaktrax on packed snow instead. Hopefully leaving the snowshoes behind means no stealth aggravation of either hamstring. Most of the heavily traveled trails were impressively packed down, tempted to give it a try but I doubt I'll go through with it. Today also kicked off what looks to be a string of warmer than normal days, with very little wind it was quite pleasant to be outside sharing the trail with various rug rats and dog walkers.

Sat 1/5 - double, 80 minutes incl. 6-5-4-3-2 minute pickups

AM - 30 minutes very easy. Barely moving to be honest, it was good to get outside regardless. On the chilly side but little wind.

PM - 50 minutes incl. 6-5-4-3-2 minute pickups in Levittown. Changed my mind twice about whether or not to test the hamstring and try something uptempo. After a long afternoon nap, headed out the door figuring I'd just go for a run, but after 15 minutes of jogging, decided that it was back on and started in on timed pickups. 2 minute recovery jogs between the first three reps, then a minute before the last two shorter reps. The hamstring held up well to this which was a happy surprise. The unhappy surprise was slipping on a patch of black ice going around a corner and landing on my left knee like a sack of potatoes 3.5 minutes into the 5 minute pickup. After getting up, dusting myself off, and checking the scrape on my knee, I resumed the workout figuring that if the leg stiffened up I'd have no choice but to stop. Enormously frustrating to say the least, slippery winter conditions continue to be the bane of my existence. Still, able to finish the rest of the workout. Found upon getting back home that the scrape was a bloody mess, sure to become a gross weeping scab over the next few days.