training 3/1-3/7

3/1- Lakeshore 5 in 36:12 (7:15 pace). This was probably my best workout since the injury. Very even splits: 7:17-7:15-7:14-7:19-7:07. Put forth tempo effort and finished less than 3 minutes from a PR. Took no taurine during the day and was still hurting a little since yesterday's 1000 dosage. I'll be a little lenient with the grade. This would have been a low 35 in a race. I finished just seconds before the rain started. Yes.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=5.0

3/2- Planned rest day. Forecast high of 39 degrees. When will this winter end?

3/3- Trak Shak 8 in 59:50 (7:29 pace). New course PR. This is the first time that I have broken 60 on this course. Yes! I know that I would not have broken 60 without the water stop but it still counts. Can I run with the fast group this summer? Temp about 40 with a 15 mph wind. The normal high in Birmingham this time of year is in the low 60s. In any event, Crazy J is back.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=8.0

3/4- Veteran's Park 4. Untimed at an easy effort. Felt pretty good during the day and about average during the run. My knee was a tad sore but I'm not worried. I have a day off tomorrow. The temp made it up to 50 today, which is still chilly for March but an improvement. I can't remember a winter in which we had so many days 10-15 degrees below average.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=4.0

3/5-Planned rest day. Planned for my first double digit run in almost 2 months tomorrow.

3/6- Planned a progression run but ended up running a steady pace throughout. After a slowish 8:22 first mile, the rest were all between 7:48-8:06. Finished the run in 95:42 (7:59 pace) which was about what I was hoping for. My only gripe was that when I tried to pick it up in the last mile, I had nothing left and was struggling just to maintain my average pace. I've got 2 weeks until Atlanta and I need to improve my fitness if I want a decent showing there. Longest run since the injury by a full 4 miles so I can't be too hard on myself. 1 mile cool down which left me even more beat up.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=13.0

3/7- Already hit my ceiling in terms of mileage. I doubt that I would have had much the day after the long run. Before I got hurt, I could do 10 milers the day after a 15.

Weekly summary:
I am clearly progressing but still don't feel as well as I did in December. I am off the taurine which is good. I ran the planned mileage on only 4 runs and survived the long run. I sent in my medical report but probably won't get the results until after Atlanta. The goal there is around 1:40 (7:37 pace on a tough course) and I am clearly not there yet. Next week is round 2 of prolotherapy so I may be hard pressed to get more miles next week.
Distance=30.0/GPA= 3.07