Fri 5/17 - PM 40 minutes

Area 51. Thought about doing drills and strides on the way in, but after a relatively late start decided to just head in instead. Feeling a little more life in the legs from the recent volume reduction. Putting in at least as much time with the foam roller on the recalcitrant calf as I am running. It only wants to contract in on itself and will do so given the slightest opportunity. Undoing what I've done to it feels like putting toothpaste back in the tube. More clear breezy pollen-choked conditions.

Thu 5/16 - PM 45 minutes easy

Area 51. Still dealing with very tight right calf, but at least able to do some modest pickups on the way in. Trying to dig myself out of the hole of my own making with the old reliable two day taper. Its effectiveness is an open question. Still, I did have the time to actually do a reasonably thorough stretching/strengthening routine before bed, something else that's been shirked of late. Yesterday's gloomy weather replaced by warmth and sun, but as a new air mass took over the wind merely changed direction and picked up speed. To blow the pollen more effectively. Ahh, spring.

Wed 5/15 - PM 65 minutes incl. 3x1600

Confidence deflator. Planning to do something close to 10k race pace in advance of this weekend, similar to last year when I did 4x1600 w/400 jog recovery on the Longfellow loop, but on the track this time. Went from 4x1600 to 3x1600 + 4x400, before ending up doing three miserable, overbaked mile reps with a 300 jog recovery. From the moment I hit the first 200 of the first rep in 43 I knew there'd be trouble. From there, busting my ass far too much for the pace I was running. Also feeling a lot more spent than I should have been for the length and pace of the session. The dogshit weather didn't help one bit, gusty wind smacking me in the face on every backstretch and of course, it got stronger the second half of the workout. Ordinarily this is at least in part perception over reality but in this case it actually did pick up strength and became unbelievably obnoxious. Accompanied by spitting rain, overcast skies and unseasonably cool temps, the conditions were confounding as they've been most of the spring. I'm thoroughly sick of this garbage and the frustration I was feeling over how shitty the workout went ended up being transferred into frustration over the conditions. Right leg continues to be a mess, calf feels like it's right back to where it was Monday before the massage. Overall feels like I'm running on 1 3/4 legs instead of 2, thanks to the ongoing neverending knots in hammie and calf. Not sure what's affecting me more, the muscular issues or general fatigue thanks to the normalization of an 11 PM (or later) bedtime. Two days to impose some sort of discipline vis a vis sleepy hygiene before another jam-packed weekend.

Tue 5/14 - PM 75 minutes

Lincoln woods. After yesterday's massage, right leg in a much more functional state and as a result I was able to run at a quicker pace with the same relative effort. Go figure. Didn't realize how badly I needed that work. Still not perfect, not that it ever will be. However, it was nice to be able to do some short pickups on the way in for a change. Continued breezy and somewhat cool conditions.

Mon 5/13 - PM 85 minutes very easy

Lincoln woods. Paying the piper for the weekend, not that I expected any different. Extraordinarily creaky start to the run, first 10 minutes or so could barely be categorized as a run in fact. Slowly, gradually loosened up after that but feeling quite earthbound throughout. Right calf quite stuck and hammie feeling pinched. Quite cool and breezy all day. After the run I got a much needed and long overdue massage focusing on the calf and hip rotators. Felt a lot better after this work.

Sun 5/12 - AM 85 minutes incl. road mile

Back half of an ill-advised double, but at least I survived in one piece. Right calf worrisome from the get-go, quite stiff and stuck during the warmup. A few minutes of direct pressure and compressions helped with this but the knot lingered of course. The race itself was relatively controlled, running for place not time. Nice point to point gradual net downhill course on relatively familiar ground around the edge of Elm Bank. Figured I had little chance of winning overall, while I had the lead at times up to 1100m or so the decisive move was made soon after that and it was a holding action from there on out. It was readily apparent that I wasn't as spent as nearby finishers incl. the winner, which points to an inability to dig deep thanks to underlying fatigue. Muggy, rainy, downright cool conditions persisted through the night. Went for an extended cooldown along the aqueduct, heading back via Morse's Pond.  Right hammie stiffening up all the way.

Sat 5/11 - PM 45 minutes incl. track 3k

The mediocre results continue, although it would be charitable to describe this dud of an effort as mediocre. Unable to get that upset about it quite frankly, knew going in that I had created conditions ripe for a turd race simply by the hideously bad sleep hygiene all week, which in turn builds on previous weeks/months of similarly bad sleeping habits. This is all without even considering the compromised right leg of course. On top of all that, poor day planning had me arriving at the meet too late to get in anything resembling a decent warmup. With gloomy overcast, cloying humidity and gusty breezes sweeping across the track I could feel the apathy growing. The seed time of 72 pace was a pipe dream, decided I'd try to hit 73s instead. That lasted two laps tops before turning into 75 then quickly into 76 the rest of the way. Definitely had the familiar feeling of not being able to remotely access whatever fitness might be present at the moment, almost an out of body experience in that regard. Right calf wasn't helping, as it felt stiff fromt the jump and I managed to semi-strain it off the starting line such that I was more concerned about avoiding a full-on spasm the first 300m rather than establishing position. Tried hiding behind people as much as possible, found myself passed before 2k by someone running in training shoes that I was able to glom onto and even outkick with a despicable move the final straightaway. After hitting the km in 3:06 any hope of running 9:10 went out the window, in the end unable to break 3:20 after a pair of 3:08 kms to close. On the plus side, there's plenty of room for improvement, if only I can take better care of myself in the weeks to come. If only.