training 12/28-1/3

12/28- Lakeshore 6.5 with temps in the upper 30s. That's likely the temp for Mercedes so I better be used to it. Sore lower legs again. Pace was a steady 7:40 for the first 4.5 then had to work for an 8:00 pace over the final 2 and finished with an average pace of 7:46. Average performance but a modest improvement over yesterday. Volume will be fairly light early in the week followed by a monster run on New Year's Day.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=6.5

12/29- The mini-slump is over. Strong 5 mile tempo today on Lakeshore. I opted for this instead of Johnny's speed session partly because of the weather. Intervals with temps in the 30s isn't all that appealing. Solid effort all around and a pretty even pace (16:53-17:03) with the 2nd half slightly uphill. Finished in 33:56 (32 off my PR) and that's an average pace of 6:47. Easy tomorrow, rest Thursday, MONSTER on Friday then we'll see over the weekend.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=5.5

12/30- Trak Shak run with Adam and one immature post-collegiate runner. Adam ran a faster pace than I intended but I was not about to wuss out on him. 5 miles @ 7:20. Very sore. Decent performance.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.0

12/31- Scheduled rest day. When you read about my New Year's day run, you'll know why I rested. I'll be going to bed early. Finished the year with 1993 miles (38.2/week). My goal was 2009. My average weekly GPA was 2.95 and my goal was 3.00. It was still a good year overall.

1/1- 2nd annual New Year's Marathon time trial. Time was 3:35:32 (8:12 average pace) and an unofficial PR. I was trying but this was not an all out effort. I think I had sub-3:30 stuff but that will wait until race day. 1st half: 1:45:58, 2nd half: 1:49:34. I think that's the most even splits I've run in a 26.2. Full splits:
7:49-8:01-8:01-8:06-8:08-8:10-8:04 (1st quarter: 52:44)
8:11-8:05-8:06-8:02-8:10-8:04 (2nd quarter: 53:14)
8:08-8:10-8:07-8:11-8:16-8:13-8:21 (3rd quarter: 53:47), 20 M- 2:42:33
Again, I really didn't care about my time. I just wanted to finish with as little discomfort as possible. That said, I would not allow my pace to go above 9. This was the best last 10K that I've done in any 26.2 run.
8:23-8:26-8:29-8:42-8:39-8:43-1:47 (7:10 pace for .25). Last 10K- 52:59, 4th quarter-55:47. I am now unofficially within 54 seconds per mile of a BQ.
Grade:A/3 credits/distance=26.5

1/2- 3 mile recovery jog on the 'mill. Why? Because I could. Time was 25:24 (8:28 pace). That's fine. The fact that I was able to run the day after running the marathon distance proves two things. 1) my fitness has improved significantly since last year and 2) I clearly left several minutes out there yesterday. I will shoot for 3:29 at Mercedes, which is probably good for a 3:24 on a level course. If I can do that, a Fall BQ attempt may happen in Tucson. Otherwise, I'll just try for 3:20 in Huntsville.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=3.0

1/3- Trak Shak 8 untimed. Garmin didn't work. Is the 305 broken again? I'm glad I got the 405 for Christmas but will that be any more reliable? Too hard today. I must rest tomorrow no matter how I feel. The right quad is VERY sore. I feel more sore today than yesterday. Edit: I got the Garmin working again.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=8.5

Weekly summary:
I feel good about this week overall. Next week may suffer because of this weekend. I still have no doubt that I will be fully recovered in 3 weeks when it's time to race in Texas. The next time I go 26.2 whether in training or in a race, there will be a rest day within the next 2 days.
Distance=55.0/Weekly GPA= 30.4/9= 3.38