Thu 11/26 - AM 60 minutes incl. 5k cross country race

Maudslay Park. No snow on the ground like last year, in fact the conditions were as close to ideal as one is going to get at this time of year. Not too cold and very little if any wind. Alas, I didn't get a particularly restful night's sleep and I could feel it from the moment the alarm went off. Not helping matters was a relatively late arrival which resulted in an inadequately short warmup. Thought I was within myself enough for the initial climbs but after topping out I realized I had bitten off more than I could chew when the only competition I was concerned about was right on my shoulder and proceeded to make a pass that I couldn't respond to. Spent most of the rest of the race trying in vain to close the gap until it became clear on the final ascent to the finish line it wasn't happening. Overall a weak sauce effort but what else could I expect given the totally inadequate training of late. Cooldown was a mellow jog with the CH.

Wed 11/25 - PM 55 minutes plus hill drills

Took the meandering scenic route to Rice road although not as far afield as last week. Tried a few short pickups on the way in, not exactly scintillating but not as sore as last week at least. Feeling a bit less exhausted, I think.

Tue 11/24 - 60 minutes incl. 2x1600 ins and outs

First and last weekday run with one of the kiddies, in this case the last one still racing at this late stage of the season. My plan is to do more running with them next fall. Pressed for time, directly into a warmup along the Weston aqueduct east of campus and from there directly into a 15 minute progression that was quite controlled. After 4-5 minutes, 4 laps of ins and outs trying to keep the recoveries more of a float than a jog. This ended up going in 5:50 overall, fairly impressive really for my young charge. Then a cooldown on the same course as the warmup followed by a long break to put away uniforms among other things. Then in the darkness four more laps by myself alternating 200s between 40 and 50-52. Less impressive perhaps but in the chilly conditions and wearing clunker training shoes I'll have to take it.

Mon 11/23 - PM 60 minutes easy

Area 51. Not quite as flat as the past couple of days but not so spry either.

Sun 11/22 - AM 60 minutes incl. 8-6-4-2-1 minute pickups

Longfellow loop. Still feeling flat, went ahead with a planned session anyway due to compulsive tendencies. Even without having measured splits or times it felt like I was puttering along at a pedestrian speed. With the end of coaching season and the return of my free time I'm hopeful that I'll get back into the swing of things but it certainly won't happen in a day.

Sat 11/21 - double, 50 minutes total

AM - 25 minutes easy, Stanley Park. Course tour prior to the kiddie state meet on the mellow, mostly flat trails in Westfield. Woke up feeling far from refreshed, unsurprisingly. A nice visit to the park though with some exciting races to watch.

PM - 25 minutes easy, Levittown. Supposedly this was going to be timed pickups. Standing around outside for almost five hours with 3 hours of travel time on top of that put paid to that idea. Thought I would take a 20 minute catnap which turned into a 2+ hour snoozefest instead. Words cannot describe how strung out I'm feeling at the moment and getting zero relief on weekends it seems. Got out the door and realized within five minutes I would be shuffling again. Trying again tomorrow, on the odd chance I actually feel somewhat alive upon getting up.

Fri 11/20 - PM 65 minutes easy

Area 51 to Old Marlboro and back on route 27. Another lackluster day of feeling like crap but I was joined by the CH which made things a lot more pleasant. Unable to sleep through the night at the moment, while this has been an issue in the past it seems to be especially so recently. Pre-waking the alarm by 1-3 hours and lying there, ugh.