Fri 3/29 - PM 80 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Cue the chorus of angels, the trails are (mostly) free of snow. Clear enough for my purposes anyway. Only the shadiest north-facing slopes had icy spots and those were easy enough to traverse by and large. So giddy was I at being able to run here again I lost track of time and ended up going a bit longer than I had originally planned. Some stiffness in right ankle still and of course hammie as well, but I was able to do a short pickups on the way in anyway.

Thu 3/28 - PM 80 minutes very easy

Track Road to Area 51. Happily, the snowpack is ablating rapidly with temps staying above freezing 24/7 the past couple of days. Shadier trails still socked in but it's getting better on the fringes. More tired than expected, just as stiff as expected after yesterday's longer track workout. Kept it very relaxed as a result, got somewhat bored at times which explains the various stops I took here and there. Right hammie and glute sore but perhaps as a result of the gentle effort, the leg felt much better by the time I went to bed after some stretching.

Wed 3/27 - PM 65 minutes incl. 4k-3k-2k-1k

Back to the snow-free track for the first time since last fall. The balky right leg had me genuinely concerned about how this would go but I made it through mostly unscathed. Although twinges in the right ankle during the warmup were not at all reassuring, and the hammie felt like it was stiffening up about 2/3 through the first, longest rep. Did a few stretches of the right hammie between each rep which seemed to help. Unlike most of the threshold-ish track sessions in the fall I had a definite wind to contend with most of the time which of course was a chore. Between that and the leg, pace was somewhat secondary. Hoping to progress the pace with not much of an idea what numbers that would entail. However I did know I hit the first lap of the 4k far quicker than I would have liked, which put the kibosh on the pace windup for that one. Other than that, the pace did increase from one rep to the next at least. Not that it shouldn't of course given the decreasing length of the reps. Splits:

3:34/3:35.4/3:33.9/3:31.7 (14:15)
4R
3:30.9/3:30.6/3:27 (10:28.5)
3R
3:27.3/3:28 (6:55.3)
2R
3:24.2

I though the last rep would be a little quicker but the turnover is currently not exactly well-developed.

Tue 3/26 - PM 65 minutes easy

Area 51 to Old Marlboro Road and rt. 27. With warmer temperature and sun came the irresistible tug of trail fever. I had a hunch that despite the dumping of snow a week ago it would be soft enough to be navigable and for the most part this was the case. While some stretches were corny enough to be slippery messes others were well-packed or even bare ground. Right leg also feeling better than yesterday, it couldn't get much worse though and still be usable.

Mon 3/25 - PM 80 minutes easy/very easy

Concord Road to River St, Stow to Conant and Red Acre, back via White Pond and Track Road. Between the stiff torqued up right leg and incessant blustery wind this was less than pleasant. I thought the hammie would have been in much worse condition than it was but still not good. Calf was surprisingly tight though. Still at somewhat of a loss as to how I got through January running and racing on indoor tracks more or less in one piece and yet since the 4xmile session six weeks ago it's felt like crap most of the time. Stopped for a stretch break at 30 minutes or so, helped somewhat but still a chore to deal with. Very tired as well, something I didn't quite realize until well past the point of no return. Weather to match my mood, with the latest in an unending string of late winter storms passing to the south. Thankfully no precipitation as a result, but close enough for overcast and ill winds blowing all day.

Sun 3/24 - double, 90 minutes total incl. 5k road race

AM - 60 minutes incl. 5k road race. Even more mediocre than last week, alas. I had thought that having Saturday to rest a bit more this might go better than last week. Also, right hammie felt as good as it has in a while yesterday evening. None of that made any difference, as the effort was overall about the same as last week in terms of quality. Typically windy which made the first mile somewhat tactical, I was more or less forced into the lead for much of it but consciously holding back. Dropped all but one on the only hill of any consequence about 3/4 mile in, without really trying. The real racing started soon after that and I thought I was ready to take part, but instead found myself popped out almost immediately. Holding action from there on out. Like last week the right thigh starting locking up right around the 2 mile mark, although I'd like to think it didn't get quite as bad this time. Puttered through a very easy 20 minute cooldown with the hammie feeling like garbage. Not sure how much of this dud is attributable to the leg vs. underlying fatigue, certainly there was no peak or taper of any kind.

PM - 30 minutes very easy. Trying to do a shakeout before getting in some much-needed stretching. Right thigh and butt feeling like utter crap though made it a chore. Calf stiffened up as well during the afternoon, the leg as a whole is in much worse shape than it ever should be after a race of that length. Lots of rolling on the lax ball and foam roller afterward. Piriformis/glute/TFL/IT band all feeling the strain mightily. I have to think they're picking up the slack for a weakened hammie. Calf too. Ugh.

Sat 3/23 - double, 60 minutes total

AM - 30 minutes very easy. Dragging the right leg more than I'd like even given the early hour. Calf particularly tight. Big surprise, cold and blustery conditions.

PM - 30 minutes easy. Felt much better after a nap. Right leg even felt better, esp. after doing some work on the calf after the morning shakeout. Wimpy double but there's the race tomorrow plus the point of this run was a glorified warmup for doing short pickups on the way in and then mobility drills at the end. Still obnoxiously windy.