Fri 12/20 - PM 35 minutes

Winter St to Tiger Drive. Took forever to get going after a hellish commute home from work that included turning around partway to go back and get my stupid phone which I left on my desk. No choice but to retrieve it really but what a pain the ass. By the time I got home feeling dead tired and took to bed for far too long. The late bedtime has become firmly entrenched with predictable effect, even though I'm no longer on the overextended coaching schedule of the fall. As for the actual run, just looking to put in a modicum of time as a shakeout. Right leg feeling better thanks to using the foam roller beforehand unlike yesterday. Did a few short pickups on the way in, felt fairly decent. Unseasonable warmth came in overnight and should be around for three days, should be interesting to see how much of the snowpack wastes away. Hoping for tracks to become clear would seem an idle hope of course.

Thu 12/19 - PM 55 minutes easy

Levittown. Bare pavement mostly, for the first time in almost a week it seems. Took it easy of course, stiffness in the hammie and butt throughout which was an annoyance. Forgot to use the foam roller before starting and rueing that oversight, with what's been ailing me it helps a great deal both before and after. Took a fair amount of time to get out the door anyway, feeling tired as usual. Somewhat warmer today, a sign of things to come according to forecasts.

Wed 12/18 - PM 60 minutes incl. mile, 2x(440, 330, 220, 110)

Harvard. Late start, split warmup between outside and in. Right thigh not exactly cooperating but I was able to do the workout without any blowups. Took a good while to loosen up though. After the lengthy warmup routine incl. drills, started with a mile that was supposed to be a progression but wasn't and felt a lot harder than the cruise it was supposed to be. Five minutes jog and then into the first of two sets of 4-3-2-1 cutdowns. Did the final set in spikes, first time wearing them since the mile race in July. Splits:

mile 5:15.3 (78.6, 79.8, 78.1, 78.7)
5R
71.8 (92.7)
54.2 (65)
35.9 (31.1)
18.1
6:08.8
5R
71.0 (93)
53.2 (62.1)
35.3 (32.1)
17.8
6:04.7

Looking to see if I have any turnover at all. Not sure about that, but dull fitness is quite clear. Just under a year ago I did two sets of the cutdown as well and the total time for each set (1 mile worth of running) was 20+ seconds faster. All of this difference coming from the recovery intervals after the 400 and 300. Despite this I'll give it a whirl on Saturday.

Tue 12/17 - 45 minutes easy

Tiger Drive to Sheridan. More snow, coming down at a furious rate by late afternoon. A testament to how much I detest the treadmill that I ever set foot out the door. Really no justification for trying to give it a go but I knew I'd be going no further than 45 anyway and decided to embrace the absurdity of it instead. Yaktrax a given, in fact skis or snowshoes would have been perfectly appropriate on just about every road in town. Went straight for the school campus where I knew the driveways would be at least somewhat plowed. Right calf has that nasty tight feeling like it did a year ago when I was running on indoor tracks and in the snow. Ahh, winter.

Mon 12/16 - PM 80 minutes

Tiger Drive to Longfellow loop and McMansionville. I had hoped rather naively that the roads in Sudbury would be in better shape than those of Maynard. If anything they were worse, and left me wondering if the plow drivers had been given specific instructions to keep above the pavement. More cynically one could ask if the various contractors just didn't want to put the blade all the way down. Either way found myself running in packed snow most of the way. The only roads clear of the stuff are the ones that are too crowded with traffic to be remotely safe to run on. Despite the poor footing I was able to increase the pace somewhat towards the end. Both calves tight, the right one more so, I think from the slipping around yesterday. Right hammie not as bad as I thought it might be. Quite cold with a breeze but I was actually dressed for it this time, no frozen fingers to contend with.

Sun 12/15 - 60 minutes easy

Levittown. Snow arrived in earnest overnight, awoke to about 8 inches on the ground. Spent about 90 minutes on shoveling, in two separate bouts. This left me dead beat after lunch, with a long nap being the result. In addition, very annoying nasal congestion arrived yesterday seemingly directly upon finishing the workout. Not especially motivated to do anything very impressive as a result. On top of that the roads were in atrocious condition, no exaggeration to say that one could successfully ski on many stretches of "plowed" road. Made for a slog of a run and more slipping than I'd care for. Cold but the wind from earlier in the afternoon slacked off somewhat after sunset thankfully. Right leg could be worse after yesterday's workout but still enough of a hitch that I was compelled to do compressions on it afterward. Could really use a picnic table edge for that right now but they're all buried in snow of course.

Sat 12/14 - PM 65 minutes incl. 4(1100y, 220)

Harvard. Spent the morning staring down the barrel of having to do something of quality in miserable sub-freezing temps. Getting to full procrastination mode when I realized that the track was open for business, and within 15 minutes I was on the road heading into town, impending snowstorm be damned. Mulling over various potential options for the workout, decided on the new standby of km reps (imperial version) alternating with 200s with 200 jog recoveries. Originally going to put this particular session off for a week. Looking to do at least 4 and possibly 5 reps, although it became clear that 4 would be my limit. Splits:

3:27.9 (52.0) 36.7 (52.5)
3:27.4 (50.4) 37.4 (53.6)
3:26.4 (51.9) 37.3 (54.3)
3:28.2 (52.2) 38.0 jog 110 in 32, last 110 19.2
23:17 total

Aiming for something in the 3:30 range for the longer reps, able to hold that line well enough. Surprised that the recovery jogs stayed relatively consistent. On the down side, the faster I tried to go the more the right hamstring was a problem. This made the 220s something of a joke. Fighting a losing battle as the thigh as a whole began to lock up more and more towards the end. Looks to be a holding action at best for now in terms of keeping the leg in a condition where I can race on it. When I did this session last year about this time, it was 5 reps instead of 4, outside. Progressed the 1000s then with relative ease, something that wasn't happening today. Warmup entirely under cover, part of cooldown as well. Bundled up for a quick jog across the river to pick up lunch before heading back home as the flakes began to fly.