Training 3/12-3/18

3/12- As I predicted, improvement came as a result of taking zero pills. Workout was 8 miles in 58:56 (7:22 pace). I wanted to push this one a bit because my weekend sucked so bad. This was moderate effort in order to run a pace that is not far off my easy. I was clearly less than 100% and if I raced a half mary today, it would have been 1:33-1:34 but it was a nice improvement over the past 2 days. Took half a Paramin (Cal/Mag) pill after getting home and felt much worse immediately. I may have to endure a rough day tomorrow but it's a price I was willing to pay to know that I will do best on nothing.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=8.5

3/13- 3 miles in 22:28 indoors (7:29 pace). I expected to suck real bad today but surprisingly, I did okay. It seems that much of the Paramin has cleared my system. I had at least 2 miles, maybe 3 more in me at that pace but I would have been crap in a race. This was little more than a junk run and I hope that by shutting it down early, I will not need a day of complete rest this week. Tomorrow is the first chance to do 8 from the Shak in the daylight.
Grade:Pass/0 credit/distance=3.0

3/14- Trak Shak 8 in 54:10 (6:46 pace). Hilly and hard run with a few traffic stops along the way but no worse than usual. It's a new course PR by quite a margin. Crazy J is back and hopefully here to stay. Why am I free from pills again? A lot of people will think I'm nuts, which is a charge that I do not deny but I really believe that it has much to do with my prayer life. Before the LIFE retreat, I needed 8 Thym-Adren pills. The very next day, the dosage began trending down and I was free within 3 weeks. After a red hot start to 2012, several irritations unrelated to my condition caused me to slack on prayer time, specifically my study about the Holy Spirit. I slowly became unstable again with a Cal/Mag imbalance. Then, my enthusiasm returned and I am free again. This is too much of a coincidence to ignore. Any other theories?
Grade:A+/2 credits/distance=8.5

3/15-Hard 200s at Hoover. Garmin didn't work well again. Time to order the Soleus GPS. I started with a 1.5 warmup in 10:48 (7:12 pace). 6x200 with a full recovery (200 jog) followed by a 1 Mile cool down. I was only able to time 2 of them and both were right around 31 flat. I imagine the other 4 were about the same. I need to do 8 near 30 flat to have a shot. My best must be near 28 flat. Pretty much spent after the workout. Yesterday may have taken something out of me. Easy-junk tomorrow.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=4.0

3/16- 4 miles indoors in 30:28 (7:37 pace). Even pace. Easy effort. Rather ho hum. 2 short and easy runs this week instead of a rest day. I hope that I will be fresh enough to do well in my LR tomorrow. I really need a good one.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=4.5

3/17- Slept 10 hours and missed the long run. High temp might hit 85 today and it would have been pushing 80 by the time I finished 15. No thanks. Lakeshore 6.5 in 49 flat (7:32 pace). Still feeling a bit run down. I can't handle 7 days a week even if 2 of them are short and easy. I will have to get up by 6 AM to run long tomorrow. Feels more like the middle of May than March.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=6.5

3/18- Finally, a good long run. Lakeshore 15 untimed. The first 5 were just under 37 (around 7:20 pace). Garmin, you officially suck! I hope Soleus is better. I'm sure I slowed down after that but I'd guess that I was in the 7:30s overall. It was 70 degrees and sunny by 9 AM when I finished. I did stop every 2.5 miles to drink but I did have something left at the end. Not an all-time great long run but certainly the best I've felt at this distance since the marathon.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=15.0

Weekly summary:
This is my best week since Mercedes and I did it without taking any pills at all. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. At a prayer meeting, somebody asked me if I had any pain in my hip or groin. He doesn't know about this blog so how else could he tell that? In the future, I will take a rest day instead of 2 short and easy days. I want to keep the mileage in the mid-40s on my non-race weeks. Nothing over 50 until the Fall.
Distance=50.0/GPA= 31.3/9= 3.48