Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Tuesday: off. Crazy day as expected, but overall a successful day, if not from a running point of view.

Wednesday: 10 miles / 65:05 on one of my favorite hilly loops in Andover. Rocked some new gear from Whirlaway and just felt generally strong. Presented the 2013 MVS program in the evening... I think it's going to be a great year!!

Thursday: Rushed home from work to sneak in a run before heading out on the town with family. Had about 35 minutes to spare so I made the most of it. Warmed up 15 minutes to the Andover track and ran 400 hard, 200 steady for 10 minutes and then swung back home. I was a little late, but so was everyone else. 400s were 75-77 and the 200s were 45-48 seconds.

Monday, 11/26

Met up with Tim for a jaunt around Andover by moonlight. Decent amount of traffic as we were out the door around 4:50 but had good vibes flowing and so the run flew by. Kept it steady at a general aerobic effort, 9.6 miles in 65 minutes. Stumbled around a bit avoiding traffic but otherwise smooth. Lower back and hamstrings are still tight and achy but it doesn't bother me while running. Rolled out before and after the run. Probably time to see the chiropractor again. It's only been 2 years...

Sunday

Sunday: Headed out to Mine's Falls to cheer my dad on at the Wolf Hollow Half Marathon. Had planned to meet with a couple friends and each had to cancel last minute, so I jumped in and paced my dad. It was an easy pace for me, but still got 1:45 minutes on my feet and had a few pit stops, so I had some quick miles in there catching back up.

Week in summary: 43 miles on 4 days. I'm not counting the other actvities, but I'd say it contributed to feeling like I did some work this week. Hamstrings and lower back have been tight lately, but things are coming around. Energy levels are better than usual. Crazy week ahead, so each run I am able to fit in will be a small victory.

Friday and Saturday

Friday: I met up with old roommate and timeless friend Steve Hennigar who was home from his graduate studies for a great run in Maudslay. I showed him my standard 10 mile loop and the conversation was seamless. Great to catch up and the run went by in an instant. Felt fine after a reasonably hard effort yesterday. 71 minutes

Saturday: 6.5 easy. Met up with Sharon downtown and ran a little loop around there. Had planned on running home but she convinced me to take a ride since it was dark out and we had no reflective gear on. Longer tomorrow.

Monday - Thursday

Monday: 60 minutes of dodge ball with the kids. 20 minutes easy running plus about 60 minutes of lifting. Good workout.

Tuesday: Intense 60 minute soccer match followed by throwing some serious dodge ball for another 60 minutes. Rolled my ankle playing soccer (go figure). Doesn't seem too bad.

Wednesday: 2 miles easy. Ankle and outer calf sore from yesterday. Could have run on but didn't want to risk it. Right arm and back are pretty sore from chucking dodge balls for two days.

Thursday: Feaster Five road race. What a nice event! Warmed up from home, got to the starting line just in time. Ran in trainers. Cruised the first couple miles as planned and then notched it down.

1 - 5:45 hill
2 - 5:36
3 - 5:46 lazy
4 - 5:21
5 - 5:03 = 27:34.

13 miles on the day.

Ankle felt fine on the warm up. A couple tender steps on trails on the way towards the race but smooth on roads. I ran about the same race as last year with similar feelings going in. These are my first miles sub 6 since the marathon and I'm glad to see my legs are basically back underneath me. My consistency is still weak. I'd like to see a solid finish to the week and see where next week takes me with parent-teacher conferences after school, a presentation Wednesday night, and the school play Thursday night.

Could be another week or two until I see 70's, but I'll be there soon enough. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday - Sunday

Tuesday: off - right hamstring really sore. Not good!!
Wednesday: off - resting the leg.
Thursday: 8.5 miles, 62 minutes easy night run around Andover. Hamstring tight but not sore.
Friday: 9 miles, 60 minutes with Tim Mallard from home. Good run!
Saturday: 4 miles, 28 minutes easy on trails from home. Being cautious.
Sunday: 8.5 miles, 55 minutes easy/moderate in Westford from La's parents' place. Football and grading after. Hamstring still tight but loosened up after about 10 minutes.

41 miles on the week. Not great but I will continue being cautious coming off of CCM. I wanted to race Club NE's on Sunday but I made the right call.

Sunday and Monday

Sunday: I took the day off. I hung out with my parents, ate a lot of good food, and headed home in the evening. I considered running in the dark, but thought better of it and decided on a good run for Monday.

Monday 6:15 AM: I met up with Dave Dunham and Steve Dowsett for a few loops at Winnekenni. Dave, Steve and I ran 10 together and Dave continued on for a 3rd loop. Steve and I opted to do some faster stuff. Alternating 4 x 35-38s hard on flats and 4x 26-29s hard on a hill nearby. Definitely got the lactic acid flowing which was the goal. 1:31 total running including cooldown. 13 miles on the day and done by 8am. Great run!

Friday and Saturday

Friday: 7 miles easy along roads in Andover. Kept it nice and relaxed. TGIF.

Saturday 7am: 14.5 steady with Steve in Newburyport and W. Newbury. We were running through a reservation in W. Newbury when somebody with a rife fired at us (or in our direction, at least). Of course, hunting off all kinds is illegal in this reservation, and the sign at the entrance clearly indicated so. I yelled and got no reply, so we changed our route and still had a great run, but that was a little bit of a shock in such a high-traffic area. Normally that kind of thing doesn't happen in MA. Had some strong miles in there. Glad I didn't die.

Saturday 4pm: My dad talked me into going for a run with him. Ended up going 8.1 on trails and roads in Keene. Kept the pace in the 7's. 22.6 on the day.

Monday - Thursday

Haven't had a true training run since Sunday. No issues, just still trying to keep things in perspective and relax another week. On Monday, I played 90 minutes of capture the flag with the kids in PE. On Tuesday I played another 90 minutes with the younger ones. Pretty flippin' sore by Wednesday, when I played 40 minutes of touch football. On Wednesday I also did 3 x 40 situps, 3 x 30s hamstring stabilizers, 3 x 15 pushups (sad, but that's a lot for me right now!), 3x15 lunges on each leg, and 3 x 30 squats. Today (Thursday) I'm trashed from head to toe. Literally every single muscle group is sore to the touch, especially upper hammys and groin. I have to brace myself to sit down. With the storm and friends coming over for dinner, I might just take today off completely. Grades close tonight, so if I get them done in time (not likely) I might skip out to the gym and do a little something on the treadmill and weights. That's all, for now!

Saturday 'N' Sunday

Saturday: 65 minutes solo on messy trails running very easy. 8 miles. 6 days post-marathon and I was itching so badly to run it is finally time to throw in the towel and just do it. Gradually building up and making sure everything feels right. No soreness or tightness to speak of, as of yet.

Sunday: 78 minutes / 12 miles on the dot in Pelham with none other than Tim Mallard. We ran a tad quick in spite of the cold weather. Averaged 6:31/mile on a pretty hilly route. It was a nice run. Fell into a groove early and talked about our goals for the winter. I think Tim has some really solid PRs coming to him on the track this winter. I hope I do too.