training 7/26-8/1

7/26-Drove to Destin today and stopped in Monty to run in the park for old times sake. Interesting workout. Just one day after a 16+ miler, I had barely a trace of soreness in my legs, which actually went away completely after I warmed up. Took off at 6:00 pace and came through the first mile in 6:20. Then, my breathing got labored and my pace slowed. Dogs were out in the park without a leash and cut in front of several runners (one of whom went down). I had to stop several times to avoid the same thing. I am not a fan of dogs and would have had a few choice words for the owner if I found him/her. I quit after 2 miles and would have been near 13 without the stops. Performance was fair overall. Stopped Serine and increased taurine.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=2.0
7/27- Waited until 7:45 AM to run (bad call on the Gulf coast). Solid start in the first half but hit the wall in Mile 4. Took several walk breaks and Gatorade breaks but did finish the last .7 back to the hotel at 10K race pace. Finished with a respectable moving time of 37:14 for 5 miles (7:27 pace) but that does not include the walk breaks. Feeling overstimulated. 1 extra taurine seemed to help but another yielded an immediate negative reaction that carried over to the next morning.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=5.0
7/28-Woke up feeling awful but got better as the day progressed. Drove back to "the Ham" in the rain and ended up running an estimated 3 miles at tempo effort indoors. Splits were 5:36-5:37-5:40-5:11 for an overall time of 22:04. Felt better in the evening and may be ready for a good workout tomorrow. Weight is +2 more to 152.2. Only 3 lbs more to gain.
Grade:C-/1 credit/distance=3.0
7/29-Pathetic excuse for a workout today at the Trak Shak. 3.25 miles in a turtle pace of 8:30 and had to quit after that. One of my worst of the year. I did cut my taurine dosage but it wasn't enough. I'll cut it some more tomorrow. If this doesn't work soon, I'll go back to the Serine and take very little taurine, which means my adrenals remain overactive and potential for improvement is limited.
Grade:F/2 credits/distance=3.5
7/30-20 laps at Hoover Rec Center to avoid light rain. Ran the same distance as Tuesday and finished over a minute faster. Still didn't have top form and pain in my shins and calves is a cause for concern. Splits were 5:10-5:17-5:25-4:59= 20:52. I think this was short of 3 miles by at least one lap, at most 2.5. In any event, an improvement over previous workouts but still a mediocre performance. Except for the sinus infection, this has been my worst week of '09.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=3.0
7/31- 20 laps at Hoover Rec Center this time in 19:03 (4:47-4:48-4:51-4:36). Man, I wish it was always this easy to cut off this much time. Lower leg pain was still there but not as intense as before. I think it may be my new shoes and I will not be happy about that (they were expensive). This was the first time since Monday that I felt anything like myself. Went to Vestavia for some 800s after this and turned in a 3:17 and a 2:59. I'm ready to declare myself healthy again. Tomorrow will be an attempt at a long run.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=4.5
8/1- I am officially back. 11.5 today at an average pace of 8:05. I gave John and Cary a head start then caught up after 2 miles (7:49-7:33) then slowed to their pace (about 8:30) until Mile 9 then I started pushing it. I cranked out a 6:59 (mostly downhill) then finished the last 3/8 on the trail (relatively flat) @ 6:07 pace with closing speed of 5:16 (world class marathon pace).
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=11.5
Weekly Summary:
Distance= 32.5 GPA: 20/10 credits= 2.00
With the exception of the sinus infection, this is my worst week of 2009. I had been on a bit of a roll since my last 5K race. What happened? There was a pill that I thought that I no longer needed to take but I thought wrong. I went home Friday for lunch, took it and was noticeably better by the evening and almost normal the next day. This is not the first time something like this has happened and it probably will not be the last. Probably next time, something that I had been taking with good results will suddenly start hurting me because of changing chemistry. Let's hope that it doesn't happen on a race day. I've been quite lucky in that respect in the recent past. 2 weeks away from my next 5K, which will be an all-time PR attempt on a flat course in Memphis followed by a road trip to see my 43rd state.