Fri 3/14 - AM 25 minutes

Treadmill before work, usual progression from 6 to 10 mph. Overall a day I was happy I survived. Woke up a little after 2 AM with nasal congestion such that my head felt like it was going to explode. 3+ hours of mostly misery after that, seriously considered calling in sick just to sleep in. Went through with the day anyway, and a relatively busy one at that. Felt somewhat energized by the brief run on the treadmill which felt better than I ever thought it would, but the afternoon nosedive was utterly predictable. Collapsed in bed and slept for 90 minutes or so, with a trip into town for the evening planned long ago that took care of any thoughts of an easy afternoon run that I would have done under normal circumstances. The re-emergence of the cold has been the most unwelcome of surprises, thought I had it licked for the most part last weekend.

Thu 3/13 - PM 60 minutes very easy

Summerhill to Winter, on to Tiger Drive and Longfellow. Straight recovery, both from the faster running yesterday and thanks to the unwelcome reemergence of the cold symptoms which made sleeping last night a chore. Bitterly cold and windy today, right in line with the ongoing (neverending?) trend so far this month.

Wed 3/12 - double, 70 minutes total

AM - 26 minutes on the treadmill. About 8 minutes into what was going to be a standard progression it occurred to me that I could do timed pickups instead, and so the last 16 minutes of the run I alternated 60 sec @11 mph with 60 sec @8 mph. The first honest to goodness faster running in quite a while, and the right leg held up to it reasonably well. The controlled environment of the treadmill lent some confidence, no concerns about footing of course. Not entirely sure how the weather would be come afternoon so the possibility existed that this would be my best chance to get in some higher intensity work, however modest.

PM - 45 minutes, Rockland to Levittown, with 5x 3 minute pickups. With the mini-workout of the morning already in the bank I was able to cut bank on the length of the afternoon session. This was good as the rain was starting up in earnest just as I began the first rep. Right hamstring became somewhat fatigued the last two reps but overall held together better than I would have thought as recently as two days ago. Regrettably, it appears the sore throat and congestion have made somewhat of a comeback since yesterday. Unwelcome as it is surprising.

Tue 3/11 - PM 35 minutes plus skiing

Skiing for about an hour in Area 51, followed closely by an out and back putter along a still mostly frozen Track Road. Temperature made it well on the high side of normal which made things feel downright tropical, and of course made for soft corny snow as well. No double-poling to speak of, on top of that made a conscious effort to pick up the tempo for the second half of the skiing. Softer snow made for slower going and combined with the milder temp I was actually sweating in earnest by the end of it. Figured I would run for an hour or so but found that I had no energy for it. Running on the icy road didn't help although I had decent traction thanks to the slip-on cleats over the shoes. Surprised at how flat I felt for the run, it couldn't be ignored.

Mon 3/10 - double, 70 minutes total

AM - 24 minutes on the treadmill. A slightly late start meant a slightly shorter run than previous AM fitness center visits.

PM - 45 minutes easy, Levittown. With the reappearance of hill drills on Rice road, despite the right leg being somewhat stuck. Make that mostly stuck. Tired and flat otherwise, no energy to speak of.

SUn 3/9 - double, 85 minutes total

AM - 55 minutes easy. Winter Street to Old Marlboro via Tiger Drive. The blahs continue, with the added bonus of daylight savings time moving everything up an hour. Right leg felt stiff and awkward throughout and kept the pace from progressing beyond a putter. Blustery cold conditions.

PM - 30 minutes. Same Tempo Triangle plus Farm Road loop as the other day, but with an out and back on Militia Circle tacked on. After a few pokey minutes at the start, the pace picked up to a reasonably steady level and then picked up more than that over the last half of the run. Approaching LT pace if not faster by the end. While still unable to see myself doing any kind of repeat workout at the moment thanks to the stiff calf and stuck hamstring, I can do something like this. Leg was better than the morning, not that I did anything to cause it to be that way. Windy cold weather continued all day.

Sat 3/8 - AM skiing

About an hour around Area 51. Sunny and warm enough for some areas of corn snow to develop but overall still mostly glazed-over tracks. I had every intention of going for another run in the evening but after an afternoon hike around (and across) Walden, I found myself with no energy or desire to go through with it.