Fri 3/28 - double, 75 minutes total

AM - 25 minutes on the treadmill. Progression from 6 to 10 mph. Right hamstring and calf both tight from yesterday's run with snow and ice mixed in.

PM - 50 minutes very easy, Area 51. Figured if I made it through yesterday in one piece I could do it again today. Warmer temps through the afternoon and passing rain showers had me convinced that there'd be significant ablation, alas this wasn't the case. Tried to stick to areas that I knew were more or less clear of snow and ice, not entirely successful in that. Had to use Track Road to get back and ended up walking a good chunk of it, not feeling like slipping and pulling something again like 5 years ago. By the time I got through that stretch the right leg felt like a torqued up piece of garbage which put a damper on things. Did a lot of rolling and compressions on the hamstring and calf afterward. Difficult to overstate how tired I've been feeling in the afternoons since I started doing the treadmill runs in the morning.

Thu 3/27 - PM 80 minutes very easy

Area 51. Unable to resist the lure of the trails. Stuffed traction enhancers in my pockets before heading out the door, but ended up not using them even though there were some stretches (Track Road among them of course) that are still completely iced over. Required some pussyfooting at times, while other stretches like Pine Garden trail have snow that remains relatively unpacked after all this time and thus make for slow trudging. Still worth it to get off the roads, even though it can't be good for the calf despite going at a dawdling pace.

Wed 3/26 - double, 70 minutes total incl. repeats

AM - 24 minutes on the treadmill, incl. 5x2 minute pickups. Warmed up for 9 minutes which was about a mile then onto the reps at 10.5 mph, with 1 minute recoveries at 8 mph. Calf was ominously stiff and tight for a few minutes of the warmup but able to do the faster running without damaging anything, I think.

PM - 45 minutes incl. 10x400. Back on the outdoor track for the first time in months. Looking to do something quite similar to the morning session without a lot of time spent because the weather conditions weren't favorable. Went with short threshold reps and even shorter recoveries, i.e. 100m jog. The massive storm that had been predicted for days thankfully stayed out to sea but its presence was felt in the despicably strong and cold winds that were blasting away all day. Bundled up for the cold including the headsock and vest, and kept every stitch of clothing on for the workout which is saying something. No escaping the wind needless to say, got raked on every backstraight. At least 20 mph sustained with gusts a lot more than that. A few of the reps I got stood up by the gusts which made holding a rhythm something of a challenge. Tired by the end but made it through in one piece at least. Splits nothing to write home about even given the cold and wind. Calf stiff at the outset like in the morning but not that much of an issue during the workout. Splits:

86.2 (32.7)
86. 0 (30.7)
87.1 (30.8) wind gust
85.3 (33.6)
85.8 (30.4)
87.7 (29.5) wind gust
88.6 (29.7) wind gust
86.2 (31.8)
87.0 (31.7)
last 500 1:49.2
total time 19:30 (5k)

Tue 3/25 - PM 80 minutes easy

Area 51. In desperate need of a visit to the woods, snow and ice be damned. With extra traction strapped to the shoe bottoms it wasn't that bad, although there were some spots with very slow going. In contrast, there are also some surprisingly extensive clear spots which should only grow once the weekend arrives with warmer temps and rain. Calf not quite as tight as it was yesterday thankfully.

Mon 3/24 - double, 75 minutes total

AM - 25 minutes on the treadmill. Did a fair amount of compressions and pressure on the right calf last night and found myself paying for it this morning. Calf felt like a stiff block of wood and barely loosened at all. Not good.

PM - 50 minutes very easy, Levittown to Summerhill. Crawling along, right leg stiff and sore. Calf a little better than the morning but that's not saying much. Disgustingly depressingly cold, record cold in fact yet again.

Sun 3/23 - AM 60 minutes incl. 5k road race

Another mediocre (putting it charitably) 5k, flat and tired from the moment I began warming up. I had hoped in the days leading up to this turd that last week's piss poor race was mostly due to fighting off ongoing cold symptoms. While those symptoms seem to be much better now, finally, the end result on the road was depressingly similar. Effort and pace not even close to matching up. Settled into 5th-6th place or so right from the gun with only the most tenuous contact with the last money spot, a chunky triathlete in basketball shorts. I tried to remain focused and pull myself back into contention for that spot  just after the mile when we turned away from the wind but it wasn't happening, at all. Got dropped instead and spent the final 4 minutes in cruise control. Right hamstring sore afterward of course, calf tight as well. The beat goes on, no real sign of improvement on either the fatigue or muscle strain fronts. Not that I'm doing anything substantive about either of those things. It wasn't that long ago that I could actually break 17 minutes for a podunk road 5k but it seems like a million years ago. Chilly with a fairly insistent wind, as usual.

Sat 3/22 - double, 60 minutes total

AM - 30 minutes very easy. Return of the pre-breakfast shakeout. Relaxed putter around town, checked out the rail bed off High Street which was surprisingly, though not entirely, clear. Took a good while to get out of bed in the morning, not unexpectedly.

PM - 30 minutes easy. Back half of the least impressive double possible I think. After doing taxes and eating lunch I spent most of the afternoon asleep. Deeply tired right now. Conditions somewhere between what they're supposed to be and the miserable trend of late.