11/29- 10K near tempo effort which was about half marathon race pace followed by a hard 400 sprint without any rest. Fast start but the pace evened out after the first lap. Here are the splits: 7:04-7:12-7:18-7:16-7:19-7:16 (7:14 average), 1:51-76. Garmin says that I hit sub-4 pace at the end and I think I was close in the last 100. Overall time was 46:33 for 6.5 so figure just under 47 for a quarter marathon and projects to just about 1:34 flat for a half mary, which is my goal coming in. I'm pleased with this workout. Yes, I ran this workout the week before Mercedes and this projection turned out to be very accurate.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=7.5
11/30-Elective rest day as part of the taper. It's a dreary day outside so a run would not be much fun. I feel fine and will likely run tomorrow, rest Wednesday and go very easy Thursday. Update: As I said, I was fine in the morning but I was not feeling well at all in the afternoon and evening. I was wired/tired and had more than usual soreness in the groin area. I took half a taurine pill and some Omega 3 which seemed to help. Even 1 month ago, I could not tolerate any taurine. Anyone who reads this blog knows that this is nothing new. It's been a good month but it would suck to "do everything right and not perform well on Saturday." Tomorrow will be my last hard workout and it needs to be good to keep the confidence up. The weather looks to be sunny and chilly for race day (near 40 at start time)
12/1-Felt fine most of the day. Johnny told me not to push too hard today so I held back a bit. 4x400 and 1 800. I won't even list my times but I could run in the upper 70s without pushing too hard. Susie showed up at the track after I was done so I went ahead and ran my cool down with her. Mild pain in the shins and calves. Again, I had a low in the evening so I took some taurine and should feel better soon. How much do I need to be in top form on Saturday? There is a fine line. This is getting nerve wracking. On race week? What else is new?
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=4.0
(grade is based on the workout alone, not the evening low)
12/2- Discouraging day overall. Woke up feeling flat out awful (wired/tired) with sore muscles. I took 2 grams of taurine, which helped with the wired/tired but the soreness in the groin area worsened. It was so bad that I got a sharp pain whenever I cough or sneeze. That is unacceptable. I will try to get by on 1 gram of taurine and load on Boswellian extract in an attempt to combat the inflammation. Why does this always have to happen on race week? As good as my November was, it pains me to say that I am not on solid ground yet. I will delay the medical report until I take the taurine for a while. Oh yeah, I did run today and my performance was average. Trak Shak 5 @ 7:31. Slow start and a final mile at tempo effort and turned in a respectable 6:44. If the race were today, I would have struggled to break 1:40.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=5.0
12/3- Easy 2.5 on the 'mill with a mild pick up at the end. A high 7 pace felt effortless as it should but my groin is still a bit sore. This was the final test before the race and I think I can say that all systems are a go.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=2.5
12/4- Just a few untimed strides in the hotel. My legs feel pretty good.
Grade: Pass/0 credit/ distance= 0.5
12/5- Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon in 1:32:57 PR
Grade: A+/4 credits/distance=13.5
Weekly summary:
Tremendous performance in the half marathon. I am just 13.5 seconds per mile short of a sub-1:30. I have dropped close to 10 minutes in the last 12 months at that distance and more than 26.2 minutes since my debut in March 2007. As for Boston, I'm more than "halfway there and living on a prayer."
Distance= 33.0/ GPA= 33.3/9= 3.70
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