training 3/29-4/4

3/29- Lakeshore 8 in 57:35 (7:12 pace). I can't believe how well I ran today. I felt like I could have gone all day. 1st half was 29:30, 2nd half was an awesome 28:05 with a final .25 (with no rest) in 79.9 (5:19 pace). Miles 5-7 were all 7:11-7:12. That's BQ pace and I barely put forth any effort. I've got a shot at a PR in Nashville.
Grade:A/2 credits/distance=8.0

3/30- I felt well enough to run today but took an elective rest day. Good call. I felt sleepy by 10 PM and needed almost 9 hours. No weird dreams this time. I expect to be ready for a hard and hilly 8+ tomorrow.

3/31- Outstanding Trak Shak run with Preston. First time in a while that we've run together it is was one of our best. New course PR of 58:54 on a route measured at 8.16 miles. My 59:50 was run on an 8.00 course so that's the equivalent of a 2 minute course PR. Average pace was 7:13 with amazingly even splits considering the hilly route. All 8 miles were below 7:30. 7 out of 8 were between 7:06-7:18.
Grade:A/2 credits/distance=8.5

4/1- Glad the 1st quarter of the year is over. It wasn't very good overall. Today was decent considering that I wasn't fresh. Vestavia 5 in 38:37 (7:44 pace) followed by a rest then brief interval work. 400 in 72.0, 200 in 35.1, 200 in 32.2. Best time of the year for 400. I don't think I could have done much better than 65 fresh so I've got a ways to go to get that 59.9. First taste of sprint work sure felt good. I always get my best runner's highs after intense speed sessions.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=6.0

4/2- Basically a carbon copy of yesterday's run except it was shorter because I intended it to be very easy, ran the first mile too fast and could not slow down. I ended up quitting after 4 in 30:48 (7:42 pace) then did an easy cool down. No sprints today because I'm going long tomorrow. This is not an A because I ran it too fast.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=4.5

4/3- Good long run. Started with Scott then continued alone. Christian Runner's loop followed by the Trak Shak 3 then an extension through Mountain Brook. Fairly even pace, finished at 1:57:45 for 15 miles (7:51 pace). That's just about on target. I was working hard at the end but wasn't totally spent. Short cool down. Much of the last half was run in a gentle rain, which didn't affect me during but caused some chill after I finished. Solid but not outstanding.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=15.5

4/4- Trak Shak 7.5 in 59:56 (7:59 pace). Struggled through this one. Faded badly in the second half and had some stomach trouble along with a feeling of being "beat up." Had to hustle at the end to secure a sub-8 overall pace.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=7.5

Weekly summary:
Very good week overall. I need to slow down on my easy days if I am to maintain this mileage. Again, I hit 50 miles on the nose with every run averaging less than 8:00 pace. I want to start introducing some intervals now and hope to push the next 2 weeks hard then give myself a generous taper before Nashville.
Distance=50.0/ GPA= 30.9/9= 3.43