Fri 11/8 - PM 90 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Shoved off just before 5 with the darkness fast approaching and headlamp ready to go. Somewhat concerned about uneven footing and tripping on things, while there were a couple of near misses nothing of any consequence. Hamstring sore but I can't help feeling that it's somehow less stuck than it was up until yesterday. The run went somewhat sideways when the batteries in the headlamp ran out halfway around Walden, forcing me to backtrack and then start heading back along 126. Feeling pretty pooped by this point, effort was mellow throughout but bit off more than I could chew as it turns out and looking to end things as quickly as possible and so I decided to take the train tracks back from 126. Not the wisest decision, particularly in the dark. Crawled/bumped along the last few minutes. Not as cold as I was expecting but seasonably chilly.

Thu 11/7 - PM 65 minutes

Area 51. Took some doing to get out the door, considered taking the zero what with feeling a bit flat. In hindsight happy to have chosen differently, moving relatively well after the first few minutes of light jogging. Did a few pickups on the way in which felt as good as I could hope for at this point with the right hammie. Realized halfway through the run that it might be a good idea to drop the rhythmic breathing routine I've been trying out for a bit over a month now. I had been hoping it would help improve the ongoing issues with the leg, which is one of the many claims put forth. Instead things have gone downhill, perhaps not coincidentally. We'll see where it goes.

Wed 11/6 - PM 75 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Two day reprieve from coaching responsibilities, headed for the trails DST be damned. Started out down the trail as soon as I could get there but it wasn't really soon enough. Wishing I had brought the headlamp along for the last 20 minutes or so in the dark. Right thigh stiff to start, then loosened up a bit, then got to Old Concord and picked up the pace fairly substantially for the next 10 minutes or so. Wish I could say it felt smooth but there was a hitch in the giddy up. Desperately tired afterward as I had no time to nap and the scratchy throat kept me from sleeping well at all last night. Relatively warm conditions for this time of year.

Tue 11/5 - PM 50 minutes

Area 51. Feeling better than yesterday and the pace reflected that the second half of the run. Unable to restrain myself from doing some short pickups on the way in, a glimmer of hope that maybe I'm not doing further damage to the right hamstring in doing so. We'll see. Not as cold as last night but still on the chilly side. Regrettably, the reliably poor sleep habits combined with colder temps and the time spend outside over the weekend have led to the inevitable dry scratchy throat. Hopefully it will pass quickly.

Mon 11/4 - PM 70 minutes easy

Area 51. Right leg tight and stiff, but more in the calf and belly of hamstring than up high in the glute area. Not what I was expecting. Not sure if any headway is being made with the uppermost hamstring/glute/piriformis area but it doesn't feel like it's getting worse either. Did do some rolling on it before the run which helped a great deal with relieving tension along the IT band and TFL left over from yesterday. All the same something is still off on the right side and I continue to feel incapable of doing anything resembling actual training. Downright chilly conditions but with absolutely no wind made for a still and calm evening in the woods. Enjoyed a nice break at Puffer Pond especially. Returned via rt. 27 in part to get the run over with as the slow pace made for a longer time on the trail.

Sun 11/3 - AM 60 minutes incl. 5k road race

Garbage in, garbage out. Flat, tired and functionally injured don't make a good combination when it comes time to toe the line. Lack of any kind of substantive training for almost a month didn't put me a in a good position going in. Showing up feeling half-dead finished the job before the gun went off. Hoping to vulture the last money spot but even that wasn't happening as the race attracted at least three actual runners for the first time since I started doing it in 2010. By 200m into the race I knew I was running for nothing. At least as discouraging was the fact that the effort felt like it would have yielded something far better than the sub-mediocre result. Alas, this stop on the sandbag tour may have to be retired. If so, I won't miss the course one bit. Despite having done it the last three years I forgot how obnoxious the changes in elevation are. And of course, the requisite harsh north wind blowing as well. In fact there was a brief snow flurry while I was warming up. Hamstring held up better to all this nonsense better than I would have expected but still a fool's errand overall.

Sat 11/2 - double, 90 minutes easy

AM - 30 minutes very easy. Pre-breakfast shakeout, stiff and sore most of the way. Wanted to loosen up before standing in a field at the kiddie meet, mission accomplished. Slept reasonably well but the underlying fatigue is still perceptible.

PM - 60 minutes easy, Lincoln woods. More pooped than I'd expected after the aforementioned standing around. Right leg started out feeling stuck, somewhat less so by the end. Enough for doing a few pickups on the way in. Still unusually warm, second day in a row of shorts and t-shirt weather. The tourists ambling around Walden have taken to using the exposed shore rather than the pond path in many cases, with the pond still receding by all appearances.