Training Nov. 30-Dec.6

11/30-travel day. no running but it was not a relaxing day because it rained most of the trip.
12/1- easy 4 at the gym, cold and windy outside. Steady 8:10-8:15 pace with very little effort followed by the last 1/2 mile at tempo pace. Felt pretty good overall despite stiff calf muscles.
Grade:B/1 credit/ distance: 4.5
12/2- Pretty sorry excuse for a tempo run in an all-around bad day. Felt awful when I woke up but got better as day progressed. Held pace for 2 miles, then slipped into a rut. Calf cramped in the 5th mile and managed to finish the workout with a turtle pace at the end. Overall pace of 8:00 is more than 30 secs slower than my target. Calf remains very stiff and sore. This is not good. New formula must be tweaked. Will this ever end?
Grade: D+/2 credits/ distance:6.0
12/3- 4 mile fartlek. 600 at marathon pace followed by 200 at tempo pace. Overall pace was near 8:00/mile. Calf muscle held up well on the pick ups but outside of that, no real improvement over the day before. Still feeling very hyperthyroid. Another tempo next.
Grade: C-/1 credit/ distance:4.0
12/4- 5 miles in 37:29. Maybe another baby step in the right direction. Took almost an all out effort just to run a so-so tempo pace. I was cooked after 2 miles and ran the last half much slower than the first half. (7:18-7:23-7:32-7:39-7:37). Minor calf issues but no spasms.
Rest tomorrow then I will try a 16 miler on Saturday at marathon pace or slower.
Grade:C/2 credit/ distance:5.5
12/6- 16 miles in 2:11. (8:12 pace). Go figure. I never expected this type of breakthrough. Felt great all the way through. Early pace was 8:20-8:30 then increased pace to just over 8:00 in the second half. Last mile was a comfortable 7-flat so I could have gone much faster. This is a 3:34 marathon pace. I'm in PR shape for sure at this distance.
Grade: A+/2 credit/ distance: 16.0
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Week summary:
Distance= 36.0/ GPA= 19.9/8=2.488
Inconsistent again. Hopefully, I can build momentum heading into the next week.
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