Fri 5/16 - double, 60 minutes total

AM - 20 minutes very easy, Swellesley. Noticeably humid.

PM - 40 minutes incl. 6x200. Took a long while to get out the door, more lazy than unmotivated. 200s were untimed and as such glorified strides, with a 200 jog after each. Felt pretty good overall, some tightness in right hammie that I worked on afterward with the lax ball. Showers passing through were heavy at times, but temps mild enough for it not to be miserable.

Thu 5/15 - PM 85 minutes easy

Lincoln woods. Relaxed putter on the trails, not wanting to overdo it in terms of effort today. Some stiffness in the right hammie but I was expecting worse after yesterday's session. Calf has improved of late, ankle still popping and cracking but it too feels a little better.

Wed 5/14 - double, 90 minutes total incl. 6x1600

AM - 20 minutes easy, Swellesley. Pre-breakfast putter, not as stiff as I have been of late for early morning jogs.

PM - 70 minutes, Longfellow loop. Three laps of mile repeats with 400m jog recoveries. It would be nice to be able to do a couple more reps at the modest pace I was doing them but in the middle of the workweek with the type of volume I've been doing this was as many as I could manage. Not really enough time left in the day for more either. Pace felt manageable, but only just, and starting to run out of steam on the last one. Right hammie which had been feeling pretty good of late started twinging on the third rep and while it didn't worsen that much it made things somewhat awkward. Quite pooped by the end, no problem getting to sleep. Second night in a row of a relatively early bedtime. Splits:

5:45.3 (1:51)
5:51.4 (1:58)
5:44.6 (1:53)
5:50.4 (1:58)
5:44.7 (1:58)
5:53.8

Tue 5/13 - PM 65 minutes very easy

Lincoln woods with drills on Pine Hill. Spectacularly lethargic, I suppose the higher volume of the past two days came due. Took a while to get going with motivation level not especially high. The weather was fairly dismal for this time of year, overcast and unseasonably cool with an ill wind blowing. About 30 degrees cooler than yesterday is all. On the plus side, right hammie is feeling somewhat better of late.

Mon 5/12 - double, 90 minutes total

AM - 20 minutes easy. Went up by Babson for a change of pace on the pre-breakfast shakeout. Very pleasant morning. Going too slow to notice how stiff the legs are.

PM - 70 minutes very easy, Lincoln woods. Realized within a few minutes of leaving the parking lot that this would be a very easy putter. Very warm temps, warm enough in fact to take half a plunge into Walden, i.e. up to my thighs. Water still too cold for anything more adventurous.

Sun 5/11 - double, 85 minutes total incl. road mile

AM - 55 minutes incl. road mile at Elm Bank. Able to pull out the win against a field that was either too old or too young, not that I don't fall into one of those categories myself. Not feeling that lively while warming up, but at least the calf was feeling much better than it did yesterday following the morning spasm. At the gun hung back a little bit, waited for the kids to sag, wound up in the lead just before halfway. From then on it was a game of keep away, hoping I'd be able to dial it back a notch in the last quarter mile on grass but no such luck. Had a nice stumble in the last 50m on a grass-covered rut but able to keep my balance and finish the thing off. Cooldown was a leisurely affair around the edge of the grounds. A good while passed between the race and the cooldown as well. Spectacular day with sun-drenched warmth, breezy which hit us mostly in the second half of the race.

PM - 30 minutes easy, Area 51. Easy shakeout after spending the afternoon wrestling unsuccessfully with the kitchen plumbing. Basically just wanted to get outside again before sunset, I suppose a bike ride would have fit the bill just as well but I was fixated on getting in another run. Some stiffness in both legs but not nearly as much as I'd expect for the activities of the last 48 hours.

Sat 5/10 - PM 50 minutes easy

Area 51. The day began with the right calf locking into exquisitely painful spasm when I did a full body stretch and squeeze while lying half-awake in bed. This put a damper on things right from the get-go, and certainly suggests that the race yesterday left more of a mark than I had initially figured. I had planned on running in the morning either before or after breakfast but decided to wait instead, perhaps in the vain hope that the right leg would feel better for it. As it was I headed down the street with a tentative mincing stride. Improved more than I would have dared to hope by the end, aided by a couple of stretching breaks. Still far from spry of course. Morning rain gave way to much warmer temps as the front passed through between breakfast and lunch. First day with noticeable humidity and warmth combined. Pollen is starting to crank up as well.

Fri 5/9 - PM 60 minutes incl. 5 mile road race

Return to Good Harbor Beach for at least the third different race that's used mostly the same roads along the water in this part of Gloucester. Went much better than expected, given both the recent doldrums and the utterly hellish ride to the race which was worse than expected. Far worse in fact, and I was expecting slow going. After two hours of sitting in the rolling parking lot of 95N, which ate up all the time I would normally take a nap and relax, arrived at the site barely able to keep my eyes open. 15 minute catnap helped somewhat but still feeling barely alive before the gun went off. Settled into whatI hoped would be a sustainable rhythm. The pace held for the most part, found myself leading the chase group the second mile before things inevitably stretched out. Spent the second half of the race mostly alone, playing keep away although with a group close enough behind to keep me from backing off until the very end. A week ago this type of effort simply wouldn't have been possible, so hopefully the worst of the malaise is past. Calf was stiff during the warmup but held up okay during the race. Weather went to shit overnight, gloomy cool overcast with something of a southerly wind. Alas I won't be doing this one again as the award (such as it is) for being top old fart doesn't justify the expense or the trip. Splits:

5:27, 5:33, 5:38, 5:27, 5:36