Fri 7/17 - AM 30 minutes easy incl. hill drills plus 60 minutes elliptigo and 20 minutes in Walden

One last spin on the bike and dip in the pond before leaving for the mountains tomorrow. Started about as early as I could reasonably manage, with the idea of avoiding the noontime sun. Legs stiff and awkward for most of the drills as I did them straight away upon riding to the pond. A bit tired but otherwise feeling reasonably good. Another nice day with low humidity and warm sunny conditions.

Thu 7/16 - PM 25 minutes plus 60 minutes elliptigo and 20 minutes in Walden

Capping off another compressed work week with the nerd triathlon. Despite getting started as soon as I could upon getting home, feeling pressed for time from the jump. The run was the part that got truncated somewhat. Usual stiffness in the legs upon getting off the elliptigo and hitting the trail, which worked itself out after ten minutes or so. Spectacularly nice day with sun, warmth and not an ounce of humidity.

Wed 7/15 - PM 40 minutes incl. 8x300 with circuits

Another round of circuits, like last week at Victory Field. Impossibly tired upon starting out, couldn't have felt more flat in fact. While the repeats weren't quite as difficult as the warmup jog would have indicated it wasn't anything to write home about either. Started too late to get to the local pool before it closed, although with clouds and a light rain shower rolling through this wasn't necessary anyway.

Tue 7/14 - PM 60 minutes elliptigo plus 20 minutes in Walden

Back to the long day routine at work which left me pressed for time and thus having to choose between training modalities. Running lost out for today. The day off from the elliptigo yesterday restored my ability to push higher gears which I did with some gusto on both legs of the trip.

Mon 7/13 - PM 65 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Late start thanks to another long work day, took it slow at the outset as a result. In need of a break from the elliptigo for sure, legs at least. Realized after getting out of the water that I felt up for a faster finish and so hammered the trip back to the parking lot. Not as hot as yesterday or as sticky.

Sun 7/12 - AM 50 minutes plus 70 minutes elliptigo and 20 minutes in Walden

Dawdled a bit too long in getting out the door, which had me out in the woods later in the morning as the sun approached its zenith and it really started to get warm. The ride out was also longer than expected since the main park area was closed for being crowded and I had to ride down to the end of Old Concord and park there instead. These factors shortened the length of the run somewhat. Legs felt quite flat for almost all of the run, thanks to yesterday's effort and the ride out. The dip in the pond was sublime of course, what with the sticky hot conditions. 

Sat 7/11 - double 65 minutes incl. 7 mile trail race plus 60 minutes elliptigo and 20 minutes in Walden

AM - 65 minutes incl. 7 mile trail race. Faced with the dilemma of choosing between a short and long race that both started at the same time on the same course, I once again outfoxed myself and chose poorly by going with the long one. In this case, 2 loops versus one. Realized after about 15 minutes that I should have done the short race, which was only confirmed when I saw the two guys ahead of me keep on going after one lap. Thought I could reel in second for a brief time but realized around the 20 minute mark I was sorely mistaken and dialed it back from there. The entire second loop was an exercise in get it over with. Particularly frustrating were the 20 sharp (90+ degree) turns in the final mile or so of the course, turns that I had already done on the first time around. Apparently the mountain bike crowd, who would be using the course later on in the day, love this type of thing. Warm at the start and getting hotter with each passing minute, thankfully much of the loop was in the shade. Overall a fairly pathetic effort that shouldn't have been a surprise given how late I got to bed the last two nights and the cumulative effect of the short work week/long work day. Bruised ego salved by the fact that I was able to cling to the final money spot despite the terrible performance.

PM - 60 minutes elliptigo plus 20 minutes in Walden. The dip in the pond was the highlight of a very hot day. Found the antidote to hammering on the elliptigo, i.e. riding it after a hard effort earlier in the day. Ran out of gas on the way back and had to stick to lower gears.