Fri 4/26 - PM 80 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. I had originally planned on doing threshold reps today but it became clear during the day that the calf wouldn't allow for it. Stubbornly stiff and the lack of consistent stretching lately isn't helping. Sleep hygiene still sucks, incapable of getting to bed at a decent hour. No real surprise overall that I'm feeling quite flat at the moment, it's going to take a substantial course correction to get things back on track. Persistent breeze and somewhat cool while sunny.

Thu 4/25 - PM 45 minutes easy

Back and forth in Brookline/Brighton. Long break in the middle to try on shoes at the outlet. Barely moving for most of the run. Calf a little better than yesterday but still way too stiff and sore. Nice day for it though, warm and sunny. The run itself was followed by more jogging to (and much later back from) the ballpark.

Wed 4/24 - PM 85 minutes very easy

Lincoln woods. The slow pace was mostly down to the right calf which was tremendously stiff and sore after yesterday's workout. Speed kills I guess, although speed is a relative term for the pace I was running on the track. Instead of loosening up as the run went along if anything the calf got tighter. Still quite tired as well, recent late bedtimes haven't helped in recovering from the recent vacation spent not sleeping enough. At least the weather was nice for a welcome change.

Tue 4/23 - PM 50 minutes incl. 12x300

Late late start after taking a long long nap in the afternoon. Still obviously wiped out from my recent vacation, which alas wasn't all that restful. Despite the underlying fatigue and miserable conditions, temps in the low 40s and the ill wind gusting, I wanted to get something done on the track to encourage some kind of turnover. Originally I was going to do repeat 400s alternating faster and slower paces, decided to switch it to 300s instead with the same pace pattern. In this case, reps 1-3 and 7-9 were slower, 2-6 and 10-12 faster. In theory, with "fast" being a very relative term. As in, the fast ones I was looking to run around 54 and the slower reps around 57. 300 jog recoveries throughout. Splits:

55.3 (86.6)
57.8 (85.9)
55.8 (85.8)

54.5 (85.5)
54.5 (84.8)
54.3 (84)

57.5 (83.9)
55.7 (82.2)
57.2 (83.2)

53.6 (83.7)
53.5 (84.2)
52.9

Effort was controlled, but barely on the faster reps. Working hard by the end. Surprised that the recoveries got quicker instead of slower. The calf was quite tight afterward, but also during and quite frankly before.

Mon 4/22 - PM 70 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Still recovering from the vacation of course, started the run after a relatively long car nap. Calf and left TFL felt like crap all day at work, but better after 10 minutes or so. Didn't push the pace at all, not having the energy to do so. For the first time in days, did the full stretching and strengthening routine in the evening after the run was done with. Temp well below average, with a brisk breeze to boot. Still waiting on a seasonable stretch of weather, be it in eastern MA or far afield.

Sun 4/21 - double, 85 minutes total

AM - 45 minutes easy, RROS. One last run in Colorado before heading home. In full on manic mode, pre-woke the early wakeup call by 30 minutes. Right calf remains tight as a drum, what else is new. While the weather was adverse and I won't miss the windy conditions one bit, a worthwhile trip overall. Although I need to get back in the stretching routine, which lapsed after the second day out here.

PM - 40 minutes, Area 51. Got a little greedy perhaps. Exhausted of course from the day of travel, something I didn't realize until already about 10 minutes down the road. In addition to the calf being tight, the left TFL went into spasm about halfway through. Again, the lack of stretching lately not helping there. Feeling quite run down at the moment, no question as to the reason. Definitely on the cool side in MA, average temps stubbornly remain below normal no matter where I happen to be.

Sat 4/20 - double, 90 minutes total

AM - 30 minutes easy, Red Rocks Open Space. Still groggy for much of this jog, not sleeping nearly enough esp. considering this is supposed to be vacation. I had assumed beforehand naps would be an everyday occurrence but that hasn't happened. Cool if not chilly morning, but at least it isn't snowing and the wind is moderate instead of a biting gale.

PM - 60 minutes, RROS. Took a different turn at the first major intersection this time compared to the morning, then followed the path heading south until I ended up on Gold Camp Rd. Despite a very slow start, got going a bit near the end.

Fri 4/19 - AM 3 hours, Barr Trail

Not exactly how I would have planned it. Got a late start after staying up until the wee hours following the goings-on in Watertown on twitter, unable to pull myself away. Woke up feeling decidedly not refreshed as a result. Some dawdling before finally hitting the trail late morning. I don't think it's possible to go any slower than I was and still be running on the lower steeper stretch of the Ws. Being very deliberate so as not to blow up. The packed snow that I came across almost immediately upon hitting the trail only reinforced this idea. Where the trail meets the Incline I stopped for a look at the throng ascending and decided as a lark to go up the rest of the Incline, the last 1/3 or so. 

 looking down from the "bail out"

 pet owner of the year walking her dog down the Incline, the dog looked thrilled

snow is deeper at the top

From the top of the Incline it was a no-brainer to put on the yaktrax for the rest of the trip up. It was also quite clear I wouldn't be making it as far as Bottomless Pit as originally planned/hoped, and Barr Camp would be as far as I would go. Unsurprisingly, the snow got deeper as the trail went higher, while there was some previous foot traffic lower down to pack the snow soon after the Experimental Forest it was just me making fresh tracks. This quickly became tiresome, and the last 1.5 miles or so leading up to the camp were even more drawn out than usual. The yaktrax kept slipping on the unpacked snow, not what they're made for of course but quite frustrating anyway. 

 snow was packed at this point

 not so much here - summit in the distance

 it collapsed a minute after photo was taken

looking down from just above Experimental Forest

Approaching wit's end by the time I got to the camp, took a leisurely break. It took right around 2 hours for the ascent. I was acutely aware of how pleased I'll be not to running in any snow for a good long while after today. Hoping I would be able to get back down in half that time, which ended up being the case. As it was now mid-day and the sun was out, the snow was rapidly turning to slush and further down the trail was a shallow stream in places. Despite legs being tired from the sloppy ascent, barely a misstep on the trip down.