Training 10/3-10/9

10/3- MLR on Lakeshore. 10 miles in 76:19 (7:38 pace). That's a 3:20 marathon pace. Allowed pace to slow a bit in the last 2 miles. Interestingly, I had plenty of energy today but my muscles were VERY sore, especially the IT band and I've been doing a lot of stretching. I must go slower tomorrow. No speed work this week. I just want good mileage here which will be followed by a steep taper with little-nothing next week. A quick nugget about Saturday's half: According to runworks, my projected time on a level course is 1:30:26 and that does not take into account the many turns and curves, which also slowed me down a bit. If all goes perfectly in Columbus, I really believe that I've got a shot. Let's hope the IT band feels better tomorrow or I will be concerned.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=10.0

10/4- Almost a carbon copy of yesterday but shorter. This time I parked at South Lakeshore and did the extension first. 7 miles in 53:03 (7:35 pace) plus a half mile cool. Once again, I was out fast but settled into my base pace by Mile 2. The IT band is still a bit sore but it's holding up. I'm continuing the stretches and in addition to Thym-Adren, I've added a small amount of Stress Pak. The reaction seems to be both positive and stabilizing. I don't feel as terrible if I don't take the mega dose of Thym-Adren. Again, this workout was faster than I planned and I expect Lee will be out to hurt me tomorrow. This could be rough but I've got a shot at 50 this week.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=7.5

10/5- Trak Shak 7 loop in 47:51 (6:50 pace). Strong tempo effort on tired legs. Lee killed me and I'm afraid that I may not be able to run with him for much longer. He's got a sub-3 marathon in him in the near future. I do think he was a bit fresher than I was. Faded on Mile 6 and those of you from B'ham that know this loop can guess why but bounced back with a sub-7 in Mile 7. This was comparable to my 8 mile loop in 54:50 this Spring so I'll take it. 50 miles this week is looking realistic. IT band pain has diminished and it may be as a result of the Stress Pak. 11 days until Columbus and I ran sub-1:30 pace today. Hit 1,600 on the year.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=7.5

10/6- AM- Indoor 5 mile in 38:35 (7:43 pace). I'm fine with this one. I am appropriately sore and tired today. All I need is a good long run and basic easy run on Sunday and I will hit 50. Not too glamourous today but this week is more like what marathon training looks like.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.0

10/7- Planned rest day. I am well on my way to consecutive 3.0+ weeks for the first time since late June. As for the 10K in the first week of November, my gut feeling is to skip it but if I break 1:30 in Columbus or get that 5K PR, I may decide to go for it. Hoping to get 15 tomorrow. No bizarre dreams. I've had some sugar cravings recently but I've stayed strong with the exception of a couple mini pieces of candy. I ate a ton yesterday too but I needed it. I've been off soda a month now and I feel good. Since 9/21, I've had no sweet tea and only 2 days with any beer.

10/8- Terriffic long run with the Gnomes. Ran mostly with David and Caitlin for the first 10 then nobody wanted to run my pace anymore. 15 miles in 1:51:45 (7:27 pace). Not including the warmup mile in 8:45, the average pace was a 7:21. I may pay for this one down the road but my objective was to solve the last 5K of the half mary. In Idaho and Montgomery, I faded after Mile 9 and that must not happen in Columbus. Last 6 miles today were as follows:
7:14-7:16-7:08-7:15-7:17-6:18. That last mile is NOT a typo either. Got a shot at it now.
Grade:A/2 credits/distance=15.0

10/9- Lakeshore 5 in 36:46 (7:21 pace). I am officially on fire. I was doing 7:15s comfortably until I allowed the pace to slow in the last 1.3 miles and that was partly because it was slightly uphill. No problem at all after yesterday. I was only mildly sore.
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=5.0

Weekly summary:
Red hot all week long. 3rd week out of the last 4 that I finished above 3.5 and my yearly cumulative has finally climbed above 3.0 for the first time. Can I stay hot for another week? If so, I like my chances in Columbus. Average pace was 7:26 for 50 miles.
Distance=50.0/ GPA=33.5/9= 3.72 (highest of the year)