Training 3/14-3/20

3/14- I wanted to run intervals today but had to postpone that effort until tomorrow because of a storm. Moderate 7 miler indoors in 51:50 (7:24 pace/3:14 marathon). Very strong. Started out at 7:10 for the first 2 miles then backed off to a more sensible 7:30 pace for the last 5. Took no ADHS and 600 mg. of chromium. It seems as if I can't get enough chromium right now so I'm sticking with it until further notice. I hope that sometime soon I won't need it anymore and I also hope against hope that the ADHS dependency will not return. A bit of soreness in the calf and knee is the only reason this is not a solid A.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=7.5

3/15- Johnny's workout. 7x400 all in the upper 70s then he threw in an 800 for dessert. I was hoping for a 2:30, which I missed by 1 tick. Recovered then put out moderate effort in an 80 second quarter to make it an even 10 laps plus warm up/cool down. Hard but measured effort all the way. I want another quality day tomorrow at the Shak for the first daylight savings time run. Overall pace for this workout was just under 5:15. Felt strong and relaxed.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=5.0

3/16- Trak Shak 8.05 in 54:54 (6:49 pace) on a very hilly route. 7 out of 8 miles were below 7.
This is 1:29 half marathon pace. In competition on a flat course with another good 2 months of training, I like my chances. The only irritation was that traffic was very heavy today and I had a bit of a sore knee when I finished. I can rest tomorrow. This is a new course PR by more than 2 minutes. UNBELIEVABLE! This course has been measured before at 8.17, which would be a pace of 6:42.
Grade:A+/2 credits/distance=8.5

3/17- Planned rest day that is well deserved. I am a little concerned about my knee. The rest of me is almost as sore so that's good. I get another easy week ahead of my 5K next Saturday then it's a welcome break from racing. Medical report may arrive by the end of next week. I need lots of chromium and nothing else.

3/18- Mountain Brook speed session. 2 mile warm up in 14:44 which was too fast. 4x200 all out with full recoveries. (32.8-31.6-30.5-29.5). Average of 31.1, which was short of my goal of 29.9 by roughly 10 seconds per mile. It was comforting that each 200 got progressively faster but I am not yet in shape to run 59.9. It would probably be 63 or 64. In fairness, this is my first such workout of the year and I really did not feel my best. I found out today that indeed I can get too much chromium. I took one after the workout and felt much worse. In order to have a shot, I need enough raw sprint speed to run under 28 for 200 and the strength to do 8 of these with an average of 30.0, which would be a 4 minute mile. I'll strive for 5 under 31 in 2 weeks. Finished with a 6 lap cool down.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=4.0

3/19- Interesting adventure. Nobody from the group showed up at the Shak so I went down to Oak Mountain for the start of the 50K then proceeded to run Peavine Falls Road. I did want to do this run sometime before the race on the 4th of July. It's nearly all uphill for 3.75 miles then back down with a short trail thrown in there. The first mile isn't so bad but there's a brutal stretch between about 1.0 and 2.75. I managed the climb at just over 8:00 pace then turned on the speed for a 6:30 mile but could not find the right trail to the finish. The overall workout was 8.75 with an average pace of 7:45. My pace slowed on the trails because some were hilly and rocky plus I wasn't feeling my best. I popped a chromium to see if it would make things better or worse. The answer was worse. I slogged through 3 cool down miles at 9:35 pace. My goal is to run this course (8.2 miles) under 60 minutes on race day. That would be about a 7:21 pace.
Grade:C+/2 credits/distance=11.75

3/20- Easy Trak Shak run without a shirt (70 and sunny). I forgot to charge my Garmin so I ran naked for the first 7 then turned on the watch for the last mile (7:56 at an easy effort) so I figure that my overall pace was near 8, which is okay. FYI, running naked is runner's lingo for no watch in case you didn't realize that. The big news is that I took ZERO pills for nearly 24 hours and survived the workout with an average performance. If I am no longer dependent on them, it would be a MIRACLE. I've been hurt so many times in this area so I will not get my hopes up too high. The medical report should arrive by the end of next week.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=8.25

Weekly summary:
I did what I planned to do this week. This is pretty much what my training will look like in the Spring and Summer. Mileage will be cut just a tad by the intensity goes up for 5Ks. My all time PR is 19:13 and that's the one that I want the most. I would not mind falling short of the trifecta because I never raced longer than 5Ks in high school. This next 5K will give me a good shot. It's a fast course with a competitive field and the weather will not be too warm. Many people believe that it is impossible to come back from adrenal fatigue. I'm already better at longer distances but have yet to beat my high school times though I am comparable from the 5K all the way down to the 400. Beating just one of those times would be a major victory and the 5K is my best shot.
Distance=45.0/ GPA= 29.3/9= 3.26