Tue 12/22 - PM 40 minutes incl. 2(3x300)

Pulled the plug on what was supposed to be four sets of 3x300 or even 3 sets of 4x300. Felt flat and listless from the jump, and while I wasn't checking the splits in the midst of each set I could tell they were nothing to write home about. Not yet sufficiently recovered from Saturday in truth. Splits FWIW:

57.3 (24.6)
58.2 (23.9)
59.0 (24.2)
3R
57.3 (25.4)
58.4 (24.9)
58.5 (24.2)

The mild El Niño winter continues, overcast and humid pretty much all the time it seems.

Mon 12/21 - PM 65 minutes

Area 51 starting from Lower Village, there and back via White Pond Road. Before getting out the door spent some time in the dentist's chair and then a couple of errands, which made for a late start. Started out at a pokey crawl, stayed that way for a while but eventually started to feel like I was capable of better and picked up the pace somewhat substantially in the final 20 minutes or so. This felt pretty good, although legs are still stiff.

Sun 12/20 - AM 80 minutes easy

Area 51, with the CH. Took a while to get out of bed this morning, as expected. Right calf somewhat dinged up from yesterday, also expected what with the first running of any kind on an indoor track in so long. Still windy but not as bad as yesterday.

Sat 12/19 - 70 minutes incl. track mile, 6k threshold run

Mediocre at best performance in the first track race in six months or so, first indoor race in 10 months. Last race of 2015. In fact it was the first time I've worn spikes since June so I suppose there's that if one's looking for excuses. I'm more inclined to focus on the continued inability to get a decent night's rest, with horrible sleep hygiene contributing greatly to this. In fact, while cooling down after it was all over I resolved to the worst of it. We'll see how well that sticks. Felt fairly flat warming up and found myself hoping the caffeine would kick in, which I feel it did eventually. Moving smoothly enough while warming up on the track. When the gun went off I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the first lap of 35-point felt. One more lap like that and from there on out it was 36.5 pace lock  for the rest of the way, although the transition felt more gradual than that. Simply put, there was nothing to draw from when it came time to respond to moves made by others around me. Had a wobble/stumble coming around the final curve which was sign enough that I was at my limit. Did a brief cooldown jog and lolligagged about for an hour or so before getting on to the back half of the planned daily double, a threshold run on the Harvard outdoor track. Decided on doing an in and out effort on the track. The wind that came up yesterday had progressed into a persistent hammering gale that was raking the Charles river floodplain and everywhere else in the area. Got blasted every time around on the backstretch. Short of doing something on a treadmill I don't see any way of avoiding the wind's effects although needless to say running on an exposed track isn't the greatest choice. Splits, affected a couple seconds a lap by the conditions I hope:

3:35.5
3:52.2
3:34.8
3:53.6
3:37.5
3:52.4

Followed that up with a 10 minute jog and called it a day.

Fri 12/18 - PM 45 minutes easy

Levittown. Marginally better than yesterday but still feeling like whale poop overall. Did a few pickups on the way in which didn't feel so great either. Some stiffness in right thigh. Not feeling so optimistic about tomorrow for sure. Weather turned something more closely resembling actual winter with cooler temps and a brisk wind.

Thu 12/17 - PM 40 minutes very easy

Maynard. Late start, feeling flat, etc etc. In fact, waited out the lingering showers that passed through the area and took their sweet time leaving. Made for a roundly unsatisfying experience.

Wed 12/16 - PM 50 minutes incl. 3(400-300-200-100)

Cut down interval workout done with the "rolling" recoveries (2-2-1-1) instead of 3-2-1 slower jog recoveries as in the past. A bit over 3 minutes of easy jogging between sets to catch my breath which was quite necessary. Tried to start with the 400 at 5k pace and cut it down from there. Splits:

79.0 - 47.0 - 58.4 - 47.5 - 38.3 - 23.9 - 19.2 - 23.3 total 5:36.4
80.2 - 46.5 - 58.4 - 47.5 - 38.0 - 24.1 - 18.8 - 23.6 total 5:37.0
78.8 - 46.9 - 58.6 - 47.6 - 37.6 - 24.3 - 18.6 - 23.1 total 5:35.5

A bit colder than previous track workouts, light winds though. 

Tue 12/15 - 75 minutes easy

Area 51. Relaxed run with the CH taking the Old Marlboro/route 27 way back. Had delusions of picking up the pace near the end, instead I did some pickups on the way in which was more useful anyway. Having a great deal of difficulty getting out the door in reasonable time, too much time napping and lolligagging about beforehand.

Mon 12/14 - PM 50 minutes easy

Area 51. Late start led to a somewhat shorter run than I would have liked. After the past two days however expectations were low anyway. Not as beat up as one would expect from it though.