The runner soldiered on.

Didn't run for the whole week. The main excuse I gave myself
was the blister on the ball of my left foot. I acted proactively
and poked it last Sunday ;-) Of course one weak apology was
not enough. So I rucked (53lbs) 2.2 miles on Wed which left
my glutes medius in pain. I could find more but those were
enough for me and for now.

I woke up feeling lazy and after half an hour did some
strength work. I hit the trail after 9:00 am.

Over the past weeks, I stretched vigorously and finally was
able to do a full squat. I never thought being able to rest
on my heels, something I did everyday when I was young,
could give me such joy. I thought this would help my calf
pain from running. Well. I was probably 10% correct.

I took last Sat's route and felt great for the first several
miles. With not much effort, I was able to maintain a sub-8
pace. Given the past week's fantastic training record, I
wondered what the hell!? But by the time I ran into the
hills, I didn't feel much energy and had to struggle to
maintain the speed. After a brief stop at the water fountain
I felt drained. My calves started to protest and the last
three miles were weak (8:05, 8:03, and 8:16). I blame this
on the strength work--it must have taken too much out of
me and a cup of coffee was not enough to fuel the run.

I planned to run about 12 or 13 miles but had to stop after
11. Overall pace was 7:53, definitely a PR. And my weight
after the run dropped to 141.2 lbs, another PR! Time to
enjoy my second cup.