Tue 1/7 - PM 55 minutes incl. 2(4x400)

Back on the track with a great deal of trepidation thanks to the knotted-up calf. While it felt better than yesterday after lots of compression work, still stiff and in something of a spasm. This death grip loosened somewhat by the end of the warmup and drills but still not firing on all cylinders. Got through the workout in one piece and it appears I've dodged the bullet for now at least. What effect it has over the next month in terms of actually developing some kind of fitness remains to be seen. Workout was much harder than I would have liked coming on the heels of Saturday's double. Hopeful at the outset that keeping the times in the 72-3 range would enable to me to do 3 sets. Relatively short recoveries within each set of 4 reps made for a rapidly accumulating level of lactate, by the third rep I could feel the threshold being crossed. Longer break between sets only held off the inevitable. Ran without straining but the effort required to maintain a consistent pace was significant. By the end of the second set it was clear I shouldn't go any further. Aside from the calf which hindered efficiency and made it harder than it should have been to hit 36 second laps, the underlying fatigue was unmistakeable. Splits:

71.0 (83)
72.5 (79.8)
72.4 (75.8)
72.1
3.5R
71.6 (76.2)
72.3 (78.5)
72.7 (82.6)
72.0

I'd like to think I could run faster than this pace for a mile but having to tap out after 8 reps makes me wonder. Cooldown was a disjointed lazy affair, not really interested in even a slow shuffle. Hideously cold and windy conditions outside, not that I ran a single step there.