Fri 6/21- PM 45 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Capping off a far too hectic week with another late start thanks to work obligations curtailing the length of the run. The days' activitiy have been stretched out to untenable length all week, but some sort of seasonal affective mania has set in likely due to the solstice with its attendant endless sunlight. Another nice day although perhaps not as spectacular as yesterday with a tinge of humidity. Short pickups on the way in, right leg not perfect but less herky-jerky than it's been recently.

Thu 6/20 - PM 50 minutes plus 15 minutes in Walden

Pressed for time due to a late start thanks to work-related social function. Something of a shame as the day was about as spectacular as one could hope for, warm and sunny with negligible humidity. Tried to pick up the pace as much as was comfortable the last 10 minutes. While the right leg remains rickety I think it may be coming around, finally. Remains to be seen but less stiff and awkward overall.

Wed 6/19 - PM 70 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Ambitious day, with a set of hill drills thrown in for good measure. Tib anterior tightened up like a rock as per usual, but I think I may have found the way to apply direct pressure and cff such that a lot of the pressure is relieved. Perhaps more importantly, it appears the worst of the sore throat is finally, finally behind me as it feels qualitatively different today compared to the previous 5-6 days. One can only hope, and it remains somewhat troubling how persistent it's been. Drills went relatively well, better than last week, although right hammie was stuck by the time I reached the hill and required a few minutes of direct pressure/cff as well. No doubt from being pinched higher up near the glute, everything goes back to there. Nice conditions with lower humidity and no torrential storms for a change of pace.

Tue 6/18 - PM 35 minutes

Camberville, out and back along Hampshire mostly from Duck Village to MIT. No time for any more running, the short duration of the run focused the effort to a surprising degree. Pace was rather quick pretty much the entire way as a result. Usual stiffness/soreness in right leg but the smooth paved surfaces at least made for a little less resistance in terms of footing. Late afternoon boomers made another appearance, not nearly as apocalyptic as yesterday's but wet is still wet.

Mon 6/17 - PM 60 minutes easy

Lincoln Woods. Calf feeling a bit better than yesterday but the tib anterior is back to getting stiff at the outset. Throat might be improving, but it might not either and anyway it should have gotten better by now. Extremely frustrating to say the least. Timed things just so that I got to the pond as heavy t-storms were about to roll in. I misjudged how quickly the rain and lightning were coming and actually got in the water for 5 minutes before beating a hasty retreat so as not to be electrocuted. The rain's arrival was both rapid and dramatic, within five minutes of leaving the pond the sky had darkened considerably and five minutes later the heaviest rain I've experienced in a while was falling. Seemed like there was as much water as air in the ambient atmosphere. Subsided a bit but not very much by the time I finished.

Sun 6/16 - 45 minutes easy

Area 51. Dithered all day about what to do, if anything. Started very slow and pace gradually picked up from there. Throat continues to make getting to sleep near impossible, no end in sight there. Certainly could use a break of some sort although cold turkey time off is something I don't appear to be capable of. As for the leg, tib anterior not hard as a brick like earlier in the week but the calf felt like garbage. Right hammie also tweaked in the belly of the muscle. Deer flies are out, haven't yet taken over but I'd imagine within a week or two the place will be impassable for the summer.

Sat 6/15 - off

Woke up completely unrefreshed after yet another night of grappling with the sore throat. Having painted myself into a corner with the weekend having rolled around, went to the emergency room for a throat culture convinced I'd be walking out with a strep diagnosis and antibiotic scrip. Didn't work out that way though, left only with a bill for 75 bucks and the advice to annihilate any bedtime throat discomfort with copious amounts of NSAIDs. Felt like absolute garbage most of the day and not even able to take a decent nap thanks to the coughing. Not sure what I'll do if this doesn't turn around soon but it's turning me into a strung-out zombie thanks to sleep disruption. Incredibly, the throat woes have put concern over the right leg on the back burner, although even with the day off from any kind of exercise I can feel the underlying knot in the right glute/hammie.

Fri 6/14 - 50 minutes easy

Area 51. Super late start to a run I was ambivalent about doing at all. Not so much the right leg giving me pause, although it remains a stuck twisted piece of crap, but the sore throat that's now plagued me for almost a week. Assumed it would take the usual course and be on the way out by now but that doesn't seem to be the case. Particularly bad first thing in the morning, after a night of not at all restful sleep thanks to neverending scratchy feeling. Difficulty sleeping (even more than normal) has resulted in some long naps after work and today was no exception. Really feeling like dung right now, that race last weekend may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. At least the rainy dismal weather finally broke.