Monday, May 3, 2010

training 5/3-5/9

5/3- Vestavia speed session. Pyramid intervals. That's one of my favorite workouts.
400- 89, 800- 2:58, 1200- 4:30, 1200- 4:31, 800- 3:00, 400- 68.0 R was 1:00 per lap of previous interval. Pace per mile was 5:52.
I've done this workout many times and this one was one of my best. I was hoping to get the 1200s under 4:30 but made up for it by dipping under 70 in the last quarter. Narrowly missed my best 400 of the year. I have no doubt that I would have been MUCH better than my 5:53 mile last Saturday. I think I would have been low 5:30s today. I bumped up my TravaCor dosage to 2 (supplement that boosts serotonin) and I didn't need taurine today. YEEESSSSS!
Grade:B+/2 credit/distance=4.0

5/4- 3 miles on the 'mill set to 8:00 pace. Easy run under a time crunch. Felt a bit sluggish during the day but felt okay during the run. Unsure of how I would have responded to a hard day. 2 Trava Cor may be too much. Will 1 be enough? Can I tweak the threonine to make it work? Maybe I need to cut it in half. I want this sorted out now!
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=3.0

5/5- Took only 1 Trava Cor and still woke up feeling sluggish. I'll try cutting out the threonine. Despite the sluggish feeling, I ran quite well today. Trak Shak run in a course PR of 58:41. The course was measured at 8.06 not the 8.2 earlier. Perhaps it was because the trees were in full bloom. Garmin pace was a solid 7:17 and remained pretty even despite the hills. Preston got held up at work. Too bad. I would have been even faster running with him.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=9.0

5/6- I only took 1 Trava Cor and no threonine. I woke up feeling good for the first time in a LONG TIME. However, by the end of the day, I was feeling a bit overstimulated. My workout today was a 1 Mile time trial at Vestavia with a time of 5:32.4 (best time of the year). Splits were 80-85-88-79 (2:45 1st half, 2:47 2nd half). That's 10 down on last year's best and 17 down on my lifetime goal. Still, I am somewhat encouraged by this workout. This is the 4th time in 5 days that I have pushed myself in a workout. If fresh, I don't think I'm under 5:20 but certainly under 5:30 and only a week into the summer speed season. 17 off my goal, 83% grade. Finished with a long cool down at a steady 8:00 pace.
Grade:B/3 credits/distance=4.0

5/7- Took 1 Trava Cor and 1 threonine and it worked out perfectly. Lakeshore 5 in 37:21 (7:28 pace) and it was nearly effortless. That's awfully fast for an easy day but I felt fine and at 40 MPW, my easy runs should be faster than if I was running 60. I hope this will be the last adjustment in a long time. I hope my readers understand how much I hate having to make these adjustments!
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=5.0

5/8- Tough day today. I took a taurine and it left me a little sluggish plus it was humid outside plus I've pushed myself hard this week. Workout was 12 with Scott. I was fine up until Mile 10 then I struggled in Mile 11 and had didn't have much left at the end. My overall pace was an acceptable 7:52. Average performance. I would have been thrilled with this last week but a bit let down now.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=12.0

5/9- Split decision today. I took all the pills that I needed and none of the ones that I didn't.
AM- Hard core speed before church. 6x200 averaging 30.5 (29.4-31.6). On the plus side, I managed 6 reps instead of 4 but on the minus, I was more than 1 second slower per rep or roughly 10 per mile and was only 1 for 6 on the sub-30 challenge (#3 in 29.4). I felt good warming up but a tad sluggish during the workout and beat up afterward although I did recover quickly. 400 time today would have been about 63. Yesterday's run surely took something out of me this morning.
Grade: B-/2 credits/distance=1.5
PM- Veteran's Park 4 in 29:08 (7:17 pace). Not effortless but not uncomfortable in the least. Pretty even pace but did slow just a tad in the 2nd half. Felt much better than the Mountain Brook 4 last Sunday, which was also after hard 200s. Also scouted the 5K course and it's not conducive to a PR. There's a tough stretch near the end of Mile 2 and a nasty steep hill around 2.5. That takes some pressure off. It'll be just a fun run and since it'll be small, I expect to be among the top finishers.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=4.5
Weekly summary:
Good week overall. Nothing less than a B- and I like that. I set a course PR then came back with a 2010 best in the Mile. Maybe a bit too intense even for 5K/10K training. I ran all 7 days, which is a rarity for me. That's why it's a good time for a cut back and a 5K race (fun run).
Distance=43.0/GPA=44.2/14= 3.16

2 comments:

L.A. Runner said...

You had a GREAT workout Monday, Justin! This is just me babbling, but... I totally sympathize with your medical condition. Food for thought, though- even runners with perfect health have days where their energy is low or their runs are just 'off'. You obviously know more about yourself than I do, but just wanted you to know that a little fatigue caused by work or life stress is totally normal. Keep up the good work!

Crazy J said...

Thanks Rebecca. I appreciate for encouragement. There is a very clear difference between natural fatigue and fatigue due to chemical imbalances. I think I've got it figured out at least for now. You're right that it's normal to be "a little off" every now and then and that's certainly preferable to some of the wild up and down swings that I've had.