Fri 1/31 - PM 55 minutes incl. 4(600,300)

Harvard. Not feeling especially lively during the warmup, right hammie felt stuck as well. Soldiered on regardless, right leg held up reasonably well. Pace felt almost out of control  by the second set I was able to make the pace in a fairly controlled way. Tried to take it up a notch on the last 300. 100m jog between reps, 4.5 minutes between sets. Warmup and cooldown in the bubble, first time in there in fact. Splits:

1:52.5 (34.9) 53.1
1:52.3 (31.9) 52.8
1:51.9 (37.6) 53.0
1:53.3 (36.8) 52.0

Thu 1/30 - PM 80 minutes

Rail bed to Mt. Hope, Red Acre to White Pond and Track road. Got started early enough that there was still daylight. Planned on taking the railbed to Jones Field and head toward Stow from there, but realized en route that there was enough light left to go on to Mt. Hope for the full on nostalgia tour. Footing not ideal on the packed snow parts but it certainly could be worse. Mt. Hope trails just this side of hockey rink but not there yet. Spectacular view of Heath Hen brook just after sunset, worth tramping through the snow for. Calf tight from the snowy sections but not so bad that I wasn't able to do a few short pickups on the way in. Spent some quality time with the foam roller and lax ball afterward that seemed more productive than usual. While still cold it's certainly warmer than the past few days and barely any wind to speak of made for more tolerable conditions.

Wed 1/29 - PM 55 minutes easy

Sheridan to Longfellow Loop via Tiger Drive. The day began literally with a pain in the butt, awoken far far too early thanks to twinges in the high hammie/piriformis/iliac crest that forced me out of bed and on to the foam roller and lax ball well before 6 AM. The decision to skip this maintenance work last night before bed is one I regretted. Made it through the day at work okay but the drive home was a near-death experience and once there it was straight to bed for a blackout nap that lasted a solid hour. Lolligagged around after that before heading out the door into another evening of baleful wind chill. Needless to say motivation and desire at something of a low. Considered cutting the run short at Tiger Drive but puttered along for another 20+ minutes or so. Calf a stiff block of crap although it felt a little bit better with some deep compression afterward.

Tue 1/28 - PM 60 minutes incl. mile, 2k, mile, 2x1000

Harvard. Found myself somewhat lacking in motivation and energy to find the scheduled workout was a rather long one, not what I was expecting. Pace on each rep was slow enough for it to be a relaxed effort overall, although I was going slower than the theoretical pace goals that were laid out. As written the session certainly wouldn't have been doable at all given the recovery being on the short side. Splits:

5:31
3.5R
7:09
2.5R
5:27
3:20.8
2.5R
3:19.6

Pace was basically even throughout. While relaxed and well within myself, it nonetheless required some focus towards the end. Right leg torqued up afterward from all the laps.

Mon 1/27 - PM 55 minutes

Levittown to Summerhill. Feeling better overall, pace of the run reflected that. Short pickups on the way in which felt pretty good. High hammie got tweaked somehow during the day, occasional shooting pains which is a little unnerving (to say the least). Not debilitating however. Much warmer temps during the day today with some rain, but by the time I got on the road the milder air was in the process of being shoved out by a harsh wind.

Sun 1/26 - AM - 80 minutes easy

Concord Road to River Street, on to Stow Road and Red Acre before heading back on White Pond and Track road. Easy putter, right calf not up for anything more. Nor the rest of me. Out the door close to noontime, clear and sunny but certainly not warm. Baleful wind chill in fact.

Sat 1/25 - PM 65 minutes incl. track mile

Underwhelming at best. While not quite as down in the mouth beforehand as last week's dud of a race, I wasn't exactly brimming with confidence. Calf had a lot to do with this attitude, while it's been worse before races in the past it's also been much better. In its current state not able to get anything like 100% elasticity out of it. Not surprisingly given the nearly identical time, this race followed a nearly identical pattern as well. Maybe a bit slower the first half (2:22.xx, evenly split) before an inexorable fade over the back half. Km mark 2:58, 3/4 about 3:35, lap to go 4:12. I thought it was a gentle fade but the splits show a more sudden transition. Whatever the case, averaging over 1.5 seconds/lap slower adds up. The ongoing feeling of underlying fatigue was a factor as well of course, but it's become such a part of the landscape there are times I can't perceive its existence. Cooldown was on the long side for a change, over 30 minutes in fact. Calf stiffened up a fair amount during the cooldown alas.

Fri. 1/24 - PM 50 minutes

Tiger Drive to Longfellow. Things have improved enough from yesterday's somewhat dismal experience for me to do pickups on the way in which felt fairly decent. Right calf still somewhat tweaked though, not that it's going away anytime soon. Still quite cold but less wind plus I remembered how to dress this time unlike yesterday, undervest and hand warmers deployed. Heated socks may be the next indulgence.