Fri 7/12 - PM 50 minutes very easy plus 15 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Barely able to move thanks to fatigue from a late night. A good time but I was paying for it this afternoon. Took a long time just to get going out the parking lot. This was followed by a long break at the Gropius House port-a-john, much longer than planned or necessary. Dragged myself over Pine Hill and on to the pond, decided to cut short the dip so as not to fall asleep on the jog back in. Did short pickups on Old Concord, some quasi-turnover but still tired. Cooler today while still humid, feels like a cold front is trying to work its way through with limited success.

Thu 7/11 - PM 80 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Somewhat less tired today than the previous two, although not by much. Started out quite slowly, stayed that way for a time. Took a break at around 50 minutes in and felt better afterward, even able to pick up the pace a bit on the way from the river overlook to the pond. Tried winding up the pace on the way in over the same ground as the other day, more successful with that although right hammie was somewhat pinched by then. Unsettled weather continues but the serious storms continue to pass by either north of south of here, like yesterday's tornado in CT.

Wed 7/10 - PM 80 minutes very easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods, with a set of hill drills thrown in as well. So so tired, feeling the pull of gravity especially keenly today. With late bedtimes the last two nights not a surprise at all quite frankly. Still a slog trying to get back to the parking lot after the dip in the pond when the legs felt particularly leaden. Tried to do pickups on the way in which was good for a laugh and some expanded movement through range of motion if nothing else. Disgustingly humid for much of the afternoon, then a line of storms came through just before I started although the worst of it again remained elsewhere. Still some spitting rain and thunder in the distance. Very unstable air mass right now, a cold front would be much appreciated.

Tue 7/9 - PM 50 minutes easy plus 15 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Shortened the length of the run and the dip in the pond due both to underlying fatigue and the fact that the run was followed up in short order by a spur of the moment bike ride on the Minutemen RT. The day's quasi-triathlon left me feeling more than a little bit spent. Not a lot of energy to begin with either, tried to do a windup the last 10 minutes of the run which was decidedly unimpressive. Threatening skies all afternoon but the heavy stuff held off or at least stayed elsewhere.

Mon 7/8 - PM 80 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. More tired than I was expecting to feel, which kept the pace at a sedate putter throughout. Paid a visit to Devil's Staircase and watched as the weather rolled in, 10 minutes later I was about to get in the pond as the heat wave more or less broke right then and there. Overcast with temps dropping noticeably while I was in the water. NE breeze blowing some decent sized chop on the pond's surface. Tried a few pickups on the way in, far from earth-shattering. Considering how the butt was feeling yesterday though, doing any kind of faster running was a pleasant surprise.

Sun 7/7 - AM 95 minutes very easy plus 25 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Woke up to a disturbing level of stiffness and soreness in the glute/piriformis from yesterday's effort on the track. Having bad flashbacks to the last time I ran on the track, which is why I hadn't stepped on a track at all between then and now. I knew there'd be an issue, hoping when I went to bed that it wouldn't be too bad though and maybe the shorter distance raced would mitigate the effects somewhat. Very anxious about dragging my right leg through another painful slog, so did a copious amount of stretching and mobility drills before leaving the parking lot. This may have helped or maybe it just wasn't quite so bad as a month ago, as I made it through the run in one piece. Never went faster than a slow jog of course, and even at that slow speed I'd had enough by the end. Continued sky high dewpoint but at least some overcast kept the temp from spiking as the noontime hour approached.

Sat 7/6 - PM 50 minutes incl. track mile

Went into this race with deep ambivalence, generally about as pessimistic as two days ago. In addition to the ever-present heat wave continuing unbroken and the fatigue that comes along with struggling to sleep in such conditions, there's the fact that I hadn't set foot on a track in a month. No idea what to expect in terms of time or pace. Thankfully the event is low key which is why I went through with it in the end. Tried a few tricks to cope with the heat and humidity which seemed to have some beneficial effect. Lazy and late in getting warmed up, however the high temps decreased the length of time a warmup would require anyway. The only tactic I had in mind was not leading; within 200m it became clear that it was a 2 horse race. Things seemed a bit quick but I tucked in behind the leader and stayed there through a first lap in 72 or so. Pace slowed noticeably the second lap which was fine by me, around 75 I think. Decided on the third lap that I would make my move at 1100 with the breeze at my back and hope this would put an end to any drama. The move was as explosive as I could muster, resulted in a faster 3rd lap than the second for sure (72 or so) but not definitive as it turns out. Spent the final 300m peeking over my shoulder and playing keep away. On the plus side it felt like I was able to change gears when needed, but of course the slow pace would have something to do with that. Given that I had no idea if I could even break 5 minutes right now, dipping under 4:50 qualifies as a pleasant surprise. Less pleasant and not the least bit surprising was the stiffening of the right glute/piriformis after the race. The right leg held together well enough during the warmup and race, although I could feel a twinge or two on the last lap, but tomorrow will be another story in all likelihood. Cooldown was delayed and quite slow, also longer than I planned.