Training 4/2-4/8 (race week)

4/2- 8 miles in 59:55 (7:29 pace). Slight fade toward the end. Still quite a bit sore in the calf muscles. I really should have allowed the pace to slow and finish over 60 but pride got the best of me. Probably not real smart but we're only talking about a few seconds per mile. Johnny's workout tomorrow, easy Wednesday then 2 days off before race day. Weather is not looking good. Low temp will be 68 degrees and the race does not start until 8:30. Let's hope it will be a few degrees cooler or this might have to be a fun run.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=8.5

4/3- Johnny's workout was fairly moderate, which is what I wanted. I was NOT up for a brutal speed session today. Once again, I was very sore esp. in the calf and foot but once again, I did better than expected. (400-800) times 3 on South Lakeshore plus long warm and cool. I really don't like doing intervals on the road instead of the track. We had to make a U-turn at the halfway point of each interval so I probably lost 2 seconds each time. Times were (82-2:45/78-2:47/78-2:42) Ed wasn't there so nobody was able to push me. Decent overall. Last quality session of the week.
Grade:B+/2 credit/distance=5.0

4/4- Trak Shak 5. I wore clothes only because I wanted to be sure the pace was slow enough. Finished with a time of 38:02 (7:36 pace) with a pretty significant slow down at the end. Felt beat up and tired but the good news is the calf and foot pain has diminished. I get 2 days off before race day. Ho-hum affair.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.5

4/5- Planned rest day. I need one badly. Weather in New Orleans is looking better. High of 79, low of 64. The first sub-40 attempt is on!

4/6- 2nd rest day. Still a tad sore but expect to be ready to roll.

4/7- BAAAAD! Crescent City 10K in 43:08 (6:57 pace) with a brutal fade in Mile 4-5.
Grade:C/4 credits/distance=7.5

4/8- Hilly 6.5 mile loop from the Shak at moderate effort. 2 water stops but the moving time was a comfortable 45:36 (7:01 pace). Consider this. My first quarter mile was a slow 1:56. After that point, I averaged a sub-7 pace over the final 10K. My pace was comparable to yesterday's race and felt comfortable. The difference? 2 magnesium pills. What will happen now? Will I simply need a pill every few days for maintenance or will it be a specific formula that I will adjust periodically and without notice? Trying not to stress over it even though so much depends on it.
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=6.5

Weekly summary:
Overall, not that bad of a week but why did the nadir have to happen on race day? If the race was one day later, I probably could have fixed the issue in time. In the past, I lost my form overnight. I may be unbalanced but I am more stable. This year, it seems that it's a slow fade over a few days-up to a week. I've already said what I feel emotionally right now so no point in repeating it.
Distance=33.0/ GPA= 25.3/9= 2.81