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