Training 1/31-2/6

1/31- Lakeshore 10 in 78:18 (7:50 pace). First run in the new Brooks Ravenna shoes and they felt good. I was a bit tired before the workout but once I got started, I was fine. Even pace and wasn't spent at the end. First half was 39:12, second half 39:06. Groin was a bit sore. Not happy about that. Have I overextended myself? I have done 34 miles in 3 days all at sub-8 pace. Hopefully, that will not be an issue once I back off a bit.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=10.0

2/1- Nasty weather today so I stayed in and ran an easy 6 indoors. Time was 47:55 (7:59 pace). Average performance. Faded a bit towards the end. (23:48/24:07). Weight is down to 156, which is still in the range but I've lost 5 pounds this past month. It could be better blood sugar.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=6.5

2/2- Dreamed about getting de-friended by all but 36 Facebook friends. Sub freezing wind chill and a sudden drop in temperature. With a race in less than 2 weeks, I chose to stay indoors today and it was a good call. In taper mode now, I breezed through an easy 5 in 38:33 (7:43 pace). That's 2 ticks above the speed limit for an easy run. Obviously, I could have gone farther and certainly would have in normal training. I could have done this one at 7:30 pace with little effort and actually slowed a bit at the end to keep the overall pace above 7:40.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=5.0

2/3- Freezing rain and a good day for a planned rest. It won't be much better tomorrow. Why is it that extreme summer heat is so often followed by extreme winter cold?

2/4- Rainy and cold again so I stayed inside. 5K time trial in 20:17(6:30 pace). Slightly disappointed about this one. I really thought I was ready to go sub-20. I was at an even 10 after the first half then hung on for a 10:17 2nd half. Splits were 6:20-6:36-6:42-39. Best time of the year and a 28 second improvement over last time. That's the reason why this was not a "C." I clearly felt as if I was not operating at 100%. I'm 50 tough seconds short of my comeback PR and 64 away from my all-time mark. Sub-1:40 at Mercedes looks like a good bet but a course PR of 1:36:16 appears to be a long shot. I was in sub-20 shape just after the race 2 years ago. I'll be okay with a 1:37-1:38 effort.
Grade:B-/3 credits/distance=4.5

2/5- Snow flurries and a 10-15 mph wind out there today but I was outside this time. Early weather forecast looks okay for race day (30s but sunny) so I have to be prepared for those temps. 9 miles in 69:36 (7:44 pace). Trak Shak/Lakeshore route, which is mostly flat. Pretty solid performance. I think the chromium helped but I didn't feel my best out there. Slowed down in Mile 5-8 but that was partly by design after a too fast start and I had plenty left at the end.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=9.0

2/6- Crashed yesterday evening after a 2nd chromium pill. That's good. It doesn't look like I'll need it every day. Dreamed that I was back in college and got caught with a marijuana pipe. I've never tried pot so add another to the bizarre category. Today was sunny with temps in the 50s, which is what it should be this time of year. Modified tempo/predictor workout today. Trak Shak 6.5 in 48:34 (7:28 pace). I figure that if I can do this on a very hilly route when I'm not fresh, I can maintain it for twice the distance on race day. This projects to about 1:38 flat, which I've said all along would be pretty solid. Pleased with this one overall but the only downer was that I didn't have much left at the end. Passed Mile 6 in 45:11, then managed only 3:23 with a downhill in the last 800.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=6.5

Weekly summary:
I did pretty much what I planned this week. Hit the mileage target while staying strong in the last week of training before race day. Very good consistency but the dramatic improvement of the previous weeks has leveled off. Is this as good as it gets? My next medical report will shed some light on that question. The sample will be mailed in about a month.
Distance=41.5/GPA=31.2/10=3.12 (4th straight improvement)