training Jan.11-17

1/11-5 miles in 39:36. Good job on the day after a long run. Not too fast, not too slow. 2nd mile was a little fast but the rest were between 7:55-8:00. I would have penalized myself for going too fast. Felt some effort in the 4th and 5th miles but smooth and easy most of the way.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=5.0
1/12-Easy 10 in 83:14 (fastest time of '09). Overall pace of 8:19, which is fine. Splits were pretty even and felt good most of the way. Weight is still down and my strength is not where it needs to be. If I can break 75 fresh in a time trial, I can break 1:40 in the half. Long cooldown
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=11.0
1/13- 8x800 with 2 min. rest in between. 1st 7 were between 3:19-3:23, then pulled out a 2:59 on my 8th, which is my fastest time of '09. This workout pales in comparison to what I ran in high school but then again, my mileage was about half of what it is now. I would have been a good deal faster if fresh. Underestimated myself on 3rd quality workout in 4 days by starting too slow. Oh well, I feel better about this one than I would have if I went too hard and had to cut it short. Next time, I'll shoot for 3:15. 37 miles in 4 days, rest tomorrow.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=4.5
1/14- ran today against previous plan because the weather was not as cold/windy. Easy 4.5. Ran strictly by feel and it felt decent. Not smooth and easy but not much of a struggle.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=4.5
1/15-scheduled day off, temps in the 30s with a 15 mph wind.
1/16- 5 miles in sub-freezing temps. Normally, I run inside in these conditions but made an exception today because my gym was too far out of the way. Time of 40:41 isn't very good after an off day. Even effort but allowed myself to slow down in the 4th and 5th miles. Felt average if not a bit below. Legs were abnormally stiff after I got home then took some Mn and Cr and it helped almost immediately. We'll see how tomorrow's long run goes. This week so far has been a steady decline from Sun-Fri.
Grade: C+/1 credit/distance=4.5
1/17- The pills did the trick. 20 miles in 2:45:19, more than 4 minutes faster than last time. Splits were 83:24-81:55. Pace per mile was 8:16, which was the same as my best half marathon from '07 plus another 6.9 miles at the same pace. Last 13.1 was 1:47:53, last 10K-50:41, last 5K-24:56, last mile was a remarkable 7:26 with a final quarter in 1:41. Marathon pace of 3:36, or 1:00/mile short of a Boston qualifier.
Grade:A+/2 credit/distance=20.0
Weekly summary: Good week overall. One minor flare up but I knew immediately what it was and took action to solve it. I'm pumped about that 20 miler too. Now, I want good news on the job front. I will have good training partners in Birmingham. Yes, I like the mileage total as well.
Distance=50.0/Weekly GPA= 31.6/9 credits= 3.511 (highest on record for this cycle)