training 5/10-5/16 (race week cutback)

5/10- When I am balanced, my workout capacity is seemingly limitless. Why can't I feel like this all the time? After yesterday's double workout, I ran an "easy" 7.5 miler on Lakeshore and this easy effort yielded an average pace of 7:19, just off BQ pace and I wasn't even trying. Let's see if it catches up with me tomorrow. If I am in the groove like I was in the Fall, it will not. Also, amazingly even splits. My fastest mile was 7:15 and my slowest was 7:25.
Grade:A+/1 credit/distance=7.5

5/11- Same long interval workout as last week (400-800-1200-1200-800-400). This one was Johnny's version. That means recovery jogs between intervals, longer rests and thus faster times. I was shooting for 80-2:45-4:15 and came up a little short. Stats: 80-2:47-4:17-4:22-2:47-74. I could have broken 70 again in the final quarter but Johnny didn't want me to run it all out. Instead, I sneaked in a 200 after a full recovery and turned in a solid 30.04. Felt good despite some soreness. Can I go hard tomorrow? If I feel good, WHY NOT?
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=5.0

5/12- I did feel strong so WHY NOT? In the past 7 days, I've done 8 runs (total of 46 miles), 7 of the 8 runs were at 7:28 pace or under. Once again, they call me Crazy Justin for a reason. Trak Shak 5 in 33:44 (6:45 pace) plus cool down. Best time of the year. Only 20 seconds down on my course PR and I was anything but fresh. Also set a 2010 best in the 5K with a 20:44 but that one won't last long. Got off to a flying start but faded a bit towards the end. I think the 85 degree heat may have had something to do with that. This was my warmest run of the year.
Splits were 6:27-6:39-6:54-6:59(yes)-6:44= 33:44 #4 all time.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=6.5

5/13- Scheduled rest day. If I wasn't racing this weekend, I could have run an easy 6-8 today. I feel good enough. Even if it's just a fun run on Saturday, I want at least a decent showing and at least a new best time of the year (20:44). Edit: The tough workouts caught up with me this evening. My legs don't feel too sore but man, I am conked out. Good call on the rest day. Not surprising that it hit me 24 hours later so good call on the rest day. I predict some crazy dreams tonight and I'll post whatever I can remember tomorrow.

5/14- 3 dreams that I can remember. One involved high school acquaintances that I have not seen and have barely thought of in more than 10 years. The other 2 had to do with wearing special clothes to protect against severe body odor. Ha Ha Ha! Not the weirdest I've had but still pretty funny. I just jogged 2 miles on the 'mill at 8:00 pace. It wasn't as easy as I had hoped and maybe I should have rested altogether. I still should be fine tomorrow. Again, I'm not placing much importance on this race.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=2.0

5/15- AM-Race for Home 5K in 21:06 PW but good enough for my first ever win. This is a D+ according to my grading scale but I get 10 bonus points for the win.
Grade:C+/3 credits/distance=4.0

PM- Conked out early in the afternoon and woke up at 6 feeling awful. I correctly concluded that it was a GABA issue. GABA supplements do not cross the blood brain barrier without taurine or glutamine so I went to Organic harvest, picked it up and headed to Lakeshore. I took glutamine alone which left me only slightly better but when I added the GABA, I was much better within minutes. Trava Cor does contain a small amount of taurine and I was hoping that it would be enough but apparently, it is not. The workout was a Lakeshore tempo 5 miler with a time of 34:56 (6:59 pace). A sub-35 just like I wanted. I would not have made it without a water stop but who cares? I didn't have top form but I am clearly back on the right track.
2 times in a row, I had great workouts prior to the race but could not deliver on race day.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=5.0

5/16- Rest day. I want to be fresh for a time trial tomorrow. I'm leaning towards the 400 because my best time of the year at 67.9 stands out as soft.

Weekly summary:
These ups and downs are wearing me out emotionally. Maybe I've got it solved for now. Still, a pretty decent week overall. Too bad that my worst day was race day but then again, it was good enough to win.
Distance=30.0/ GPA= 32.9/11= 2.99