Fri 3/8 - PM 65 minutes easy

Levittown. Third day of stormy weather was the rotten charm as a snowstorm of unpredicted duration and intensity left the area buried in something more than a foot. Woke up to snow falling sideways at a surprising clip with maybe six inches or so on the ground, and news that school was not canceled after all. Partially shoveled driveway, slow ride to work with almost no one else there. An hour later the decision was made to cancel school after all and I got to drive back home in the same crap. Very productive morning needless to say. More shoveling after I got back with snow still falling. Then lunch, then a 3 hour nap, finally snow had stopped falling by then. One last short spell of shoveling and I had the brilliant idea to try snowshoeing in Area 51, utterly unaware of just how much snow had fallen because I had shoveled down the driveway in stages. The snowshoeing thing lasted no more than a minute as it was far too deep to allow for anything but a tromping trudge. Instead, headed immediately for the warren of Levittown. Took it easy for most of the run, footing not the greatest much of the time. The pace did pick up some near the end but not to the degree that it did yesterday. Some stiffness in the right hammie of course, more compressions afterward which felt somewhat productive. Trail fever will be acutely felt this year.

Thu 3/7 - PM 75 minutes

Concord Road to Stow Road and Tuttle, back via White Pond/Track road. The weather arrived in earnest this morning, but a break of sorts in precipitation just as I was heading out. Much appreciated. What counts for a longish run these days, started easy and gradually increased the pace. After trudging along track road, picked it up more substantially the last 10 minutes or so, which is when the right hamstring started twinging. The left side also got stuck again, at about the 15 minute mark and actually forced me to stop to work out the kinks. The next 5 minutes were a limping chore but it worked itself out from there on out.

Wed 3/6 - PM 60 minutes

Levittown via Rockland Ave to Summerhill. Thankfully, not a repeat of yesterday's dead-legged trudge, whatever funk I was in was hopefully a transitory state. Got an early start thanks to evening social engagement. I'll never get used to running in Levittown in the daylight, somewhat deflating that the trails remain socked in despite there being plenty of usable daylight. The least wonderful time of the year in that regard. Right hammie a bit stiff but not bothersome until I did a few short pickups in the last 10 minutes, the pickup in pace led to an immediate pinched feeling up near the hamstring attachment. More compressions afteward but trying not to overdo it with that stuff. First of what look to be three days of miserable weather, blustery with three distinct episodes of wintry precipitation while I was out there. The ill wind forecast to only get worse in the near future.

Tue 3/5 - 70 minutes very easy

Tiger Drive to Longfellow Loop. Confounding experience and not in a good way. Felt reasonably motivated to head out the door (unlike yesterday). Thinking of at least a longish easy run, maybe even some timed pickups if I felt up to it. Within 10 minutes or so it became clear that energy level was nil. I went slow enough that the exertion level was minimal but it was quite clear that going any quicker would result in immediate exhaustion. Pace tapered off toward the end to where I was barely moving with no knee lift to speak of. I'm used to feeling much more spry the day after an off day, the last two such days have been anything but. On top of this, I could feel stiffness in high right hammie despite the fact that I wasn't going anywhere near quick enough to put any stress on it. Calf very tight all day at work as well. Maybe I've been overdoing it on the compressions but the right leg feels worse than it did 2-4 weeks ago. Perhaps all the running down steep mountain trails left more of a mark than I originally realized. For the near future, looks like nothing but easy jogging.

Mon 3/4 - off

Quite possibly not the only zero I'll be taking this week. Feeling more flat and tired than expected upon getting home from work, combined with how wiped out I felt over the weekend it was an unexpectedly easy, though unexpected, decision. The obnoxious winds didn't help motivation any either.

Sun 3/3 - double, 75 minutes easy total

AM - 30 minutes easy. Better than yesterday morning, at least. More compressions on the right hammie afterward.

PM - 45 minutes, Concord Rd. to River St and back on 27. Given that it looks like I'll be stuck with running on roads for the foreseeable future thanks to stubborn snowpack, I decided to head in the direction I choose the least for this run. I had originally entertained notions of doing a tempo run on the Longfellow loop this afternoon but nowhere near the energy level for that kind of thing. Early afternoon nap made no difference at all. In fact, an easy jog was almost too much to ask as I ran out of gas after half an hour or so of puttering. Besides feeling quite flat, the calf was tweaked, right leg as a whole feeling pinched and tight. Post-run compressions on the calf seemed productive but I won't know until tomorrow. Dismal overcast with light rain or snow for much of the afternoon, but it had thankfully subsided by the time I hit the road.

Sat 3/2 - double, 85 minutes easy total

AM - 25 minutes very easy shakeout. Right leg more stiff and sore than I had hoped after yesterday's modest-paced session.

PM - 60 minutes easy, Area 51. Got the trail fever over the course of the day and thought that perhaps the snow had been sufficiently packed down by foot and snowmobile traffic to make it runnable in yaktrax. Alas, it wasn't and the whole thing was a lost cause. Any part of the path packed down was not wide or flat enough to be stable footing, the edges meanwhile were more reliable but the snowpack is still far too deep for tromping. Should have turned around the moment I discovered this but insisted on slogging through 25 minutes or so of this garbage which left the legs thoroughly fatigued. Did the calf no favors at all. From the looks of things it's going to be a good while before the trails are runnable, it's going to be a long month.