Here is the Batsto Nov 06 M21 map, and here are my routes.

Here is the Pakim Pond Nov 06 M21 Loop 1 map, and here are my routes.

Here is the Pakim Pond Nov 06 M21 Loop 2 map, and here are my routes.

Great meet. The Pine Barrens are one of my favorites places, and Pakim is one of my favorite maps. I think the terrain has an under-appreciated sweetness to it.

I have to be pretty happy about my races; day 1 was clean and moderately competitive, and while day 2 was sloppy and slow, I have to be happy about finishing, after probably a stupid decision to start a 14K race on minimal training for the past 6 weeks, forgetting the injuries.

As for the injuries, I've closed off the runner's knee, I think I'm over that. Reduce volume, do the right stretches, and stop on pain was what we did. As for the PF, some twinges 2/3 thru day 1, and twinges during warmup day 2, which almost caused me to not start. But, absolutely no pain thru the race (which I think is typical for mild cases of this injury). There was some mild pain a couple of hours after the race, but aggressive ice and stretching seemed to work. I stretch and ice over an hour a day now. I wonder if I should log it on AP.

There has to be some disappointment about the day 2 technical performance, as I usually eat this place for lunch. That, I guess, is balanced by the nearly perfect technical effort on day 1. Day 2's excuse has to be about thinking about PF and the length of the race, and whether this was too aggressive after my initial strategy of rest to nip the thing in the bud. There are also other mental distractions, and a big factor has to be the lack of fitness, and trying to push harder to compensate. I figure if I am cleared to run at my next appt, and have continue to have no real pain at that time, I will be back to fitness in 4 months, based on the rule of thumb of for every week off, 2 weeks to get it back. Of course, you probably never get it all back.

In other news, the weekend's races brought my average time per K for the year down to 8.96, vs a PR of 8.97. So, in spite of 4 injuries and Lyme disease, we still have a chance to have the best season ever. Certainly, it is felt that way technically; the question is how many sprints are in there vs the PR year to skew the numbers, as there has obviously been a physical decline.