training Feb.15-21

2/15- half marathon race in 1:36:16 PR. See race report for details.
Grade:A+/4 credits/distance=13.5
2/16- 3 mile recovery run. no effort expended at all and still ran a steady paced 23:10 just 24 hours after the race. Feeling good.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=3.5
2/17- 8 miles easy. Time of 63:50. Started out at 7:45 pace, which would have been almost tempo effort then backed off to low 8 pace in the last 6 miles. Off to a good start this week.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=8.5
2/18- 4.5 miles easy. cut short because of approaching storm. Time of 36:50 was about 8:12 pace. That's fine on an easy day. Tomorrow will be a long tempo and I want to a fairly fresh.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=4.5
2/19- Long tempo as planned. 10K in 43:47. Pace per mile of 7:04. Splits ranged from 6:59-7:11 and I'm pleased with that. I was holding back just a hair and put forth a bit more effort than I planned. How much faster could I have gone in an all out time trial? Maybe low 43 but probably not a PR. My body felt just a little on the tight side. This is still my best time of the year so I'll take it. Rest tomorrow then long on Saturday.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=7.0
2/20- planned rest day
2/21- 18 miles in 2:21-flat (7:50 pace). On 2/21, I ran a 2:21. This pace was my half marathon race pace less than 6 months ago. Now, I can keep it up for another 5 miles without competition. This is the longest that I have ever held a sub-8 pace and I'm closing in on that sub-3:30 marathon. Splits: 8:03-7:58-7:57-7:57-7:56-7:56-7:52-7:54-7:53 (71:26 1st half)
7:49-7:51-7:49-7:48-7:44-7:50-7:46-7:49-7:08 (70:34 2nd half). No sub-7 last mile but still an excellent workout. 1/2 warmup and 1/2 mile cooldown to hit a new mileage record.
Grade:A/2 credits/distance=19.0
Weekly summary: Distance=56.0 (PR) Weekly GPA= 3.873 (PR that will be tough to beat)
Wow! I followed up one of my worst weeks on record with my best since starting this blog. I'm still high from the race and I don't intend to come down any time soon.