Fri 7/5 - PM 70 minutes very easy plus 25 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Took forever to get started today, dead beat after spending most of the day on my feet at work. Soul-crushing heat and humidity the overriding feature of the day, part of the reason I waited a good while to begin was the mostly vain hope that it would be a little better the longer I waited. Got through more running than I expected quite frankly, the trick being to go quite slowly. The pond was the highlight of the day as per usual when the day is like this.

Thu 7/4 - double, 75 minutes total incl. 5m road race plus 20 minutes in Walden

AM - 55 minutes incl. road race in Harvard. My heart wasn't really in it and it showed, plainly and painfully. While it's never cool this time of year the conditions seemed particularly harsh for 8:30 in the morning this time. Mostly shady course thankfully but still awfully hot and of course atrocious humidity. The exhaustion I've felt the last couple of days after work more or less carried over to this morning as well. I made a conscious effort to hold back, in fact I was only running to win my age group nothing more. Gave up on that soon after 2 miles which left the much harder second half of the race to be spent in get it over with mode. That the last 3 miles took around 19 minutes tells the tale, I was thoroughly beaten down by the time the huge hill arrived. Of course, the ups and downs shredded the right calf which felt horrible afterward. The best part of the experience was waterboarding myself with a garden hose just after finishing.

PM - 20 minutes very easy plus 20 minutes in Walden. Waited as long as possible after trying to lay low and nap the bulk of the afternoon. Too hot and sticky to sleep well of course. Calf didn't feel nearly as bad as I thought it would, the time spent rolling it on the lax ball and foam roller was worthwhile. The pond is already starting to feel decidedly lukewarm, though still refreshing compared to conditions on dry land.

Wed 7/3 - PM 50 minutes plus 24 minutes in Walden

Walden woods. Just as tired as yesterday at the start, took about as long to get going except today's run was shorter by design so things never really got rolling. Work has become more physically demanding as it usually does at this time of year. Right calf feeling a little stiff after yesterday. Oppressive heat and humidity back in full swing.

Tue 7/2 - PM 80 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods with hill drills. Very creaky to start, barely awake really. Disgusting humidity didn't make things any easier at the outset. Took it easy of course and more or less forced myself over to the horse paddock to expand the length of the run. Ever so gradually started to loosen up and feel a bit more alive, then around 45 minutes or so an unexpected cool breeze blew in which was nothing short of fantastic. The breeze made for cross currents on the pond which was annoying but well worth it for the cooling effect. Calf was twinge-free for the first 40 minutes or so, something I wasn't expecting at all. Eventually some soreness emerged but last night's work with the rolling pin may have been more effective than I thought originally.

Mon 7/1 - PM 60 minutes very easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Knew from the moment I started down the trail that this would be a very slow run. The shorter duration was something I had already decided upon beforehand after the weekend's efforts and feeling so tired yesterday afternoon. Desperately in need of some active recovery and this fit the bill. Felt better for it afterward. Right calf a mess though, all the hills this weekend didn't treat it so well. Worked on it some with the lax ball last night, in need of more work than that though. Conditions continue to be awful, sky high humidity which seems firmly entrenched.

Sun 6/30 - AM 95 minutes

Pauchaug boat ramp to Birch Point, on to the power lines and back down School Street to Staddle Hill. Avoided taking on the climbs of Burt Hill/Schofield Mtn/Gunn Mtn on this particular trip, not really feeling up to it currently to be honest. Relatively speaking, Birch Point on a more manageable scale. Rolling along reasonably well for the first half of the run despite all the climbing, then the right calf started twinging on the descent to School Street. Stopped at the hour mark to refill water bottle and ended up taking a longish break to work on the calf as well. Upon starting up again it quickly became clear that the effort of the run thus far combined with the rising temperature and ever-present humidity were taking their toll. Hung in there to the end but not exactly finishing with a flourish, more of a get it over with mentality. The dip in the river afterward was about as satisfying as these things get. Calf left feeling quite frayed the rest of the day. Exhausted by the time I got home, took a shower and went straight to bed for a long nap.

Sat 6/29 - double, 1:50 total incl. road race

AM - 70 minutes incl. 4 mile road race. Back to Northampton, race I thought would be gone but it continues under new management. Unlike last year, woke up early and drove out morning of which may not have been the best idea. Right hip/thigh gets nice and stiff with the long periods of sitting behind the wheel. However, no amount of driving can adequately explain how lackluster this effort was. Rolled through the mile in 5:30 or so, next two in 11:50, last mile right under 6 minutes. Slowed down near the end as there was no need to continue running hard as I was out of sight of the next guy. In fact I spent all but the first 400m or so alone in third place, and the guy behind me took a wrong turn near the end and took a good chunk of the field with him. Came through the line telling myself the weather was worse this year than last year but looking back at my log entry from then it was probably just about as bad then. I don't remember feeling quite as overheated at the end last year though. In fact most of the factors that plagued me this year--atrocious humidity, lack of sleep, rolling course--were around again this time but of course the big difference from then to now is the ongoing woes with the right leg. Quite plain I'm closer to injured than healthy when it comes to actual performance vs. hobbyjogging. Cooldown was in two parts. Took a dunk in the swiftly moving and pleasantly cool river in the midst of the longer of them.

PM - 40 minutes, NMH ridge. Made it part of the way up and eventually found my way over to Louisiana Rd. before heading back down. The logging activity has completely thrown off my mental map of this ridge, such as it is. Hammie stiffened up during the afternoon but didn't feel as bad as I thought it would during the run. Disgusting humidity continued right through the day.