Fri 11/15 - PM 90 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Not quite as tired as yesterday but still plenty fatigued at the end of the workweek. More frustrating was the right leg which felt like garbage pretty much throughout. Right hammie stubbornly stuck, iliac crest also pegged. Everything in the area feeling pinched and tight. Wondering if all the poking, prodding and rolling the past couple of days wasn't maybe overdoing it. That being said, the picnic table at the trailhead was sweet relief at the end of the run as I was able to do much-needed compressions on the right hamstring at the end of the run. Extremely knotted up in the belliest belly of the muscle, felt like a big adhesion was smoothed out in about 5 minutes of work. Predicted warmer conditions arrived this morning, while the sun set halfway through the run it was still on the mild side.

Thu 11/14 - 70 minutes easy

Area 51. Flat and tired, which made the run a slog. Stiffness in the right thigh only made it more so. Late bedtime last night after going to the ballgame left me predictably fried by the time I got home from work. Realized pretty quickly that it was going to be a putter. Two longish breaks spent stretching the balky right hammie. Second one was longer than anticipated as the police came by on the patrol road looking for a missing person, something I had no idea of at the time. So of course I ended up hiding behind a tree while they went past so as not to be seen back there after sunset. Then I scampered out hopped up on adrenaline, going far harder than the hamstring would have wanted.

Wed 11/13 - PM 75 minutes

Around and around Leo J., with side excursions along the defunct rail bed into Riverside (crossing over 95 on the RR bridge, cross that off the bucket list) and briefly into Wellesley and Glen Road. Footing a mixed bag with some undulations and sideslopes mixed in. With the second half of the run in the dark this was at times a bit annoying, but worth it for the forgiving surface. Right thigh stiff to start, loosened up to an encouraging degree though. Still light years from being right however and still stuck in a holding pattern of no workouts for the time being. Warmer than yesterday, less wind as well.

Tue 11/12 - PM 45 minutes

Area 51. Cut the length of the run short so I could attempt to get to bed at a reasonable hour. On top of the usual obliteration of my afternoon thanks to coaching, had to bag leaves when I got home before being able to head out for a run. Pace started out fairly crisp, lagged a bit in the middle before picking up again near the end. Also did a fair number of short pickups on the way in, trying to focus on upright posture and keeping the hips rotated forward. Right thigh feels like it might be in something of a state of flux, plenty of adhesions and stiffness still but in a different place overall. More in the belly of the muscle and less tightness in the upper aspect. Hopefully a positive sign that the stretching and rolling on it are having some effect and if continued regularly will help resolve the worst of it. Or maybe I'm just deluding myself. Soreness in adductors and hip flexors on both sides was more obvious and noticeable, after yesterday's rolling adventure in the leaf-covered trails of Pisgah. Downright cold, felt much more like December than November for sure even with the breeze slacking off.

Mon 11/11 - AM 70 minutes

Pisgah State Park. Started from the Horseshoe road trailhead, eventually found Reservoir "road" and followed it for a time before coming back via Old Chesterfield. Trail conditions rugged to put it charitably, footing more accurately described as fucking horrendous at times. Short steep ups and downs, curves everywhere, rocks covered in leaves underfoot. This gave the core a workout and put some strain on the right hammie, but it didn't feel nearly as bad afterward as I thought it would. Cool but not as cold as I thought and sheltered from any breeze under the trees.

Sun 11/10 - AM 65 minutes

Walpole (NH). First run in these parts after a few prior visits. Originally planned on an out and back, until I came across a snowmobile trail that crossed the road I was on. Followed that on its steep and twisty way for a time before coming to a much more established snowmobile track and followed that one for a while until it became far less easy to follow. Some bushwhacking followed, then back onto roads. Hilly terrain of course, unless one is directly alongside the river which I wasn't. Right thigh stiff from the up and down but I did spend a good deal of time on it with the foam roller afterward which seemed to have a beneficial effect. Chilly conditions to start with rain showers thrown in but conditions started to improve while I was out there and continued improving through the rest of the day.

Sat 11/9 - AM 85 minutes easy

Track road to Area 51. With the benefit of daylight, I decided to go off the beaten path a bit and try the access point further down track road that's supposedly off limits. As luck would have it, ran into Ranger Rick on the patrol road and feigned ignorance quite well. The run itself was a mellow effort and a nice way to spend the morning. The holding pattern with the right hammie continues, ambivalent at best about doing anything to aggravate it at the moment. The extracurricular stuff I've been neglecting for months, mainly stretching but also core, have got to be the way out. Fair conditions, warmer than I expected and very little wind.