Fri 7/19 - PM 45 minutes easy plus 25 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Worst day of the heat wave yet, and that's saying something given it's day 6. Had I gone longer than an hour it would have been double dip time but in deference to the race and early wake-up call tomorrow I thought better of it. As it was the long time spent in the pond was the only worthwhile part of the day. Calf remains stubbornly stuck from yesterday's drills I'm afraid, put in some quality time on the roller afterward to try and release it. Slightly longer short pickups on the way in, felt decent despite the calf.

Thu 7/18 - PM 70 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods, with drills on Pine Hill. I had steeled myself for the predicted heat apocalypse, in fact had every intention of doing a double dip in the pond, but just before hitting the trail cloud cover rolled in and a breeze picked up to cool things off somewhat. It's al relative of course, still disgusting conditions but not life-threatening at least. Drills felt more awkward than Monday, nagging tightness in calf responsible for that. The glute/hammie area has calmed down a fair amount though. Did a semi-windup in the last 10 minutes, nothing to write home about but at least some kind of turnover after the putter preceding it.

Wed 7/17 - PM 65 minutes very easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Walden woods. I had planned on running longer but the recent string of too-late bedtimes caught up to me with a vengeance today, got a late start and unable to muster any kind of energy for it. Of course, the atrocious heat and humidity played a role as well. Whatever, made for a languorous day on the trails. As usual, the dip in the pond cooled me off enough that I was able to do short pickups on the way in, though they were relatively modest.

Tue 7/16 - PM 75 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. More or less stumbling through the woods for much of the time today. Not feeling especially spry and the oppressive humidity didn't help matters any. Last month's rains seem to have set the stage for a bumper crop of deer flies. The woods belong to them at the moment, something that's become unavoidably clear. All this made for a less than completely edifying time on the trails. Tried to do a windup of the pace the last 10 minutes, nothing to write home about. Calf fairly stiff at the end but glute still feels better than it has lately. Like last Tuesday, capped off the day with a bike ride up and down the minuteman bikeway, speed somewhere between leisurely and breakneck.

Mon 7/15 - PM 55 minutes easy plus 24 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods, with drills on Pine Hill. Backed off on the length of the run after the past two days. Not moving well at any point but the drills felt better than I expected. Some pickups on the way in with noticeably less booty lock than I'be become accustomed to. Not sure if this is a sign of more substantive changes with the right leg. Calf still tight of course. Disgusting weather continues unabated.

Sun 7/14 - AM 1:50

Northfield/Winchester. From the boat ramp partway up the ridge, across to the reservoir and down Louisiana Rd., then on to Pierson, Mine, and Staddle Hill. Up and over Burt Hill, along the Ashuelot and finally up Gunn Mtn. Road. Started too late for the steambath conditions that prevailed from the get-go today. Realized by the time I got to the reservoir that my original plan of tacking on Schofield Mountain was a bridge way too far, and changed on the fly to take Pierson and Mine instead before heading up Burt Hill. Got to the end of Staddle Hill just after an hour of running, break for fluids and to stretch an ever-tightening calf and from there it was a slow trudge. No energy to begin with and the heat and humidity beat whatever was left right out of me. The 5 minute soak in the swift cool Ashuelot at the covered bridge was about the best thing ever, before puttering up the hill to the tower. Past efforts in this neck of the woods have been far superior to this dud, but at least I survived without dehydration/heatstroke.

Sat 7/13 - double, 1:50 total

AM - 60 minutes, Northfield. Library parking lot to the top of Craig/Crag Mtn. via School St, St. Mary's and of course, Old Wendell. Pace was much quicker than most of the runs this week right from the jump, likely because I was able to sleep in a bit and actually felt somewhat awake given when the mid-morning start. Took a break at Hobo Falls at about the 35 minute mark, which had some water flowing for the first time that I've seen. The final pitch from there was more exhausting than I'd like as the right hammie/glute and calf were starting to stiffen up. Overcast to start, then intermittent showers started in on the second half of the run. Still relatively cool.

PM - 50 minutes, Norwottuck RT. From Pratt Field to the river, trip back on the bike at warp speed. Started quite slowly, pace picked up some in the second half to the extent that I was able given a hitch in the giddy-up thanks to the right leg still being stiff. Had I done some stretching between runs it likely wouldn't have been nearly as much of a factor but of course I didn't. More showers during the afternoon but by the time I started it was just humid and gross. Warmer as well, enough so that the dip in the river at the end was quite satisfying.