Thu 4/9 - PM 70 minutes incl. 6x1600

Longfellow loop. In theory I would have liked to go for 8 reps but at this point that's an awfully tough ask for a weekday after work I'm afraid. The conditions were also a factor, as the dismal trend of the past two days continued and in fact worsened. Steady ill wind blowing with drizzle and cold temps, absolutely miserable. Another day with highs a solid 15 degrees below normal for this time of year. The wind had an adverse effect on the even-numbered reps, as expected. Made a conscious effort to stay under control for the first half of each rep which made for less than impressive splits but a modest progression as well. 400m jog recovery. Splits:

5:44.4 (1:57)
5:50.3 (1:55)
5:38.4 (1:58)
5:48.8 (1:59)
5:38.4 (1:55)
5:45.0

I could feel the accumulated fatigue piling up the last two reps, about reached my limit after the last one.

Wed 4/8 - PM 50 minutes very easy

Up and over Summer Street to lower village, on to White Pond Road and a brief ill-advised foray into Area 51 which is of course still mostly snowbound. I had planned on going a little longer but a relatively late start and continued miserable weather made me rethink that.

Tue 4/7 - PM 75 minutes easy

Out and back along the Charles, from Watertown to Moody Street. As expected, feeling it from the up and down running yesterday, although less in the calves than I was expecting. More in the lower back though, which took the brunt of the pounding it would seem. Not much of an issue today as it was active recovery all the way through. Fairly miserable conditions with intermittent showers and relatively cold temps.

Mon 4/6 - PM 50 minutes incl. 8x hill loop

Continuing the recent obsession with running hard both up and down hills. Came up with a loop very close to home including Thompson, Elmwood, Chandler and Walnut that included plenty of up and down, some of it rather steep. Alternated direction for each rep. Not feeling especially spry on the warmup, which only emphasized the need to stay under control and not overdo it early on. Not entirely sure how long each rep would take, only that it would be somewhere around 3 minutes. With this being the case, went with a short recovery of starting each rep on 4 minutes. This meant 45-50 seconds recovery with the splits starting around 3:15 and the last one around 3:06. Felt the accumulated fatigue on the last two reps which made it clear I had reached my limit for the evening. Cooldown criminally short, but I didn't feel like going further in the somewhat chilly conditions.

Sun 4/5 - PM 1:45 easy

Meandering expedition that started down 27 south well into Sudbury on an aluminum mining expedition. Looped back through the Longfellow Loop, then after a brief stop to unload cans a second shorter loop over to Rockland Ave. Overall a relaxed putter, legs feeling much better than I thought they would after Friday's long effort.

Sat 4/4 - AM 40 minutes easy

Back and forth along the river in Watertown. A place-holder shakeout if ever there was one. On the plus side, the snow is mostly gone along the river path. Blustery conditions with the arrival of colder air, lather rinse repeat.

Fri 4/3 - 85 minutes incl. 16k progression run

Longfellow loop. Overall a pleasant surprise, although part of that is down to having very low expectations going in. Penciled this workout in a a couple of weeks ago, and when the appointed day arrived I found myself not feeling as motivated or confident as I thought. Last two days of lethargy not helping any. Took a while to get out the door as a result. Upon hitting the first 800m split in 3:08 I figured it was more of same fatigued garbage but hung in there as the splits started to drop over subsequent laps. Milder weather which was nice, but with the usual spring breeze which in this case was blowing from the SW meaning more of a headwind on the first half of the loop. Some concern that I picked it up too much on the start of the third lap but in hindsight I was good for it. Opened it up a little more on the final lap, which left me predictably tired but noteworthy that I was able to pick it up in the first place. Splits:

6:09/6:03/2:52
5:58/6:02/2:52
5:55/5:56/2:51
5:49/5:51/2:46

tacked on an extra 200m after the fourth lap to make it the full distance.

Thu 4/2 - PM 60 minutes very easy

Levittown to Tiger Drive via Summerhill, on to the outskirts of the Longfellow loop. Thought I'd be feeling more energetic today, I was very wrong. In fact things went inexorably down the pooper, with the pace gradually slowing as the run progressed. Friday tired on a Thursday. I had every intention of doing some short pickups on the street outside my door at the end just to throw in a little turnover but once I went inside to use the bathroom I wasn't going back outside.