Thu 12/5 - PM 60 minutes incl. 3200, 5(200,100)

Looking to do something along the lines of glorified strides, but couldn't resist tacking on the 3k (actually ended up being 3200m) that was edited out of Monday's workout before moving on to more leg prep-ish turnover stuff. Felt a bit stiff-legged while warming up but better after drills. Had it in mind to go 85-84-83 pace for each successive km of the 3200. Hit these numbers but in hindsight maybe should have aimed for 86-85-84 or even 87-86-85 instead. Last couple laps were more taxing than I would have liked. Mostly recovered after 5+ minutes for a series of 200s followed by 300 jog and 100s followed by 200 jog, so 800m for each set. Trying to build into each 200 and get as much turnover as possible on the straightaway throughout. Certainly felt like I was ripping along great guns but the numbers would beg to differ. The gap between perception and reality isn't that surprising, hopefully will diminish over the next few weeks. Right hamstring a bit stuck but still able to maintain a decent stride cycle. Big improvement over even a few weeks ago. Splits:

3:31.7 - 3:28.5 - 3:27.2
last 200m 41.5 - 11:08.9 total

5.5R

36.7 (97.3) 18.4 (61.5)
36.8 (93.2) 18.1 (63.0)
36.9 (91.5) 18.4 (64.9)
36.9 (93.6) 18.1 (63.8)
36.8 (93.6) 18.8 (32.9) 18.4 last 100

Same temperature as Monday's workout but more humid with a miasmic fog enveloping everything.

Wed 12/4 - PM 75 minutes easy

Lincoln woods, with drills on Pine Hill. Decided it was time to get back on the horse with regard to the drills. Noticeably less bounce to them from what I remember way back in September, not surprisingly. Other than that a relaxed jog through the woods.

Tue 12/3 - PM 60 minutes very easy

Brook Path in Wellesley. Out and back at a very slow pace much of the way, with a noticeable hitch in the giddy-up thanks to right hamstring being predictably stiff after yesterday's workout. Not putting any time into stretching post-workout yesterday didn't help any. Took it quite easy until the last 15 minutes or so when the pace dropped quite a bit, although not saying much as it was fairly glacial before that.

Mon 12/2 - PM 65 minutes incl. 4k-2k-1k, 2x200, 2x100

Edited workout that ended up being a pleasant surprise. Hamstring felt iffy at best during the day, continued pinched feeling all day at work. Did some rolling on the TFL/IT before heading out the door and it seemed to help a lot. After mulling over various options, decided to do a straightforward 4-3-2-1 cutdown. However, a combination of running the 4k a bit too quickly from the outset and underlying fatigue made me rethink doing a session of that length and so the 3k was scrapped. Had I continued as planned there would have been a stall by the middle of the 2k if not sooner. Decided to tack on a little bit of turnover, such as it is right now, with the glorified strides at the end. That took the form of a 200, 200 jog, 2x100 with 100 jog, then another 200. All told 1k more of running. With so much time away from doing harder training of any kind, never mind on the track, judging pace and effort was difficult. This resulted in the too-quick pace early on with the 4k, incl. a first 200m in around 42 seconds when I wanted it closer to 45. Certainly the methodical cutdown in pace within each rep wasn't really happening. More importantly though, the hamstring held up to the strain, even at the end with the shorter faster stuff. Splits:

3:36.9/3:33.3/3:32.4/3:32.8 - 14:15.4
4R
3:30.4/3:31.6 - 7:02
2R
3:26.7
4R
37.2 (59.1 jog)
18.7 (30.3)
18.5 (31.9)
37.9

Dank conditions with temp pegged at 40 degrees and high humidity but no wind to speak of. Warmer than I expected it to feel in fact.

Sun 12/1 - double, 60 minutes total

AM - 30 minutes easy putter around Walpole. Back and forth around the center of town. At one point tried running in a plowed field which would have been easier to do before the ground froze. Right hammie stuck after skipping out on doing most stretching and core work yesterday evening. Felt somewhat better after some time with the roller afterward. Dull gray morning but again very little breeze to speak of.

PM - 30 minutes. Squeezed in a second short run after getting home for a rather wimpy double. Better than nothing. Pace was decidedly quicker than the morning. Unable to shake a pinched feeling in the right thigh/butt, lots of sitting in cars the past few days. Got back to stretching routine afterward. Gross rain for much of the afternoon thankfully vacated by the time I was ready to hit the road, but still gloomy and dank conditions.

Sat 11/30 - AM 45 minutes very easy

Walpole. Moseyed up the road towards Drewsville at a snails' pace, veered off onto the snowmobile trail which eventually led me to Mill Pond. Took a good long while to feel anything but half-asleep but still worth the while. Right hammie locked up to start, ankle very stiff as well after negotiating the leaf-covered ascents yesterday. Both loosened up somewhat but I needed to do some work on the roller afterward. Quite cold but thankfully no wind.

Fri 11/29 - AM 75 minutes

Northfield Mountain. Running up and down the side of the ridge maybe not the best way to recover from racing up and down the hills at Maudslay SP yesterday, but unable to resist the trails. Up via Tooleybrush, 5 minute break at the summit, down via 10th mountain before heading back up and in on some of the same trails as the kiddies' course. Hamstring stuck from yesterday, somewhat better after doing compressions on a picnic table at the summit. Of course a lot of descending after that likely undid whatever I was able to release in the muscle. Made for a slow cautious descent. Picked up the effort once I headed back up and across the ridge until the end of the run, finished feeling fairly spent. Cold, clear and still, lack of wind much appreciated after yesterday's finger-freezing episode.