Sunday, June 10, 2012

Training 6/11-6/17 (race week)

6/11- Extra rest day because it's a race week.  Early indications are that the Paramin must be discontinued, leaving me with no pills to take.  This is the 3rd time in 2 years that this has happened.  In September 2010, I had 2 imbalances that cancelled each other.  More recently, in March of this year, I developed a magnesium shortage that may have been due to my diet.  Is this the charm?  I'm not getting my hopes up too high.

6/12- AM.  I've had no Paramin for about 36 hours.  I am improving but still feel a little weird.  Calf muscles remain quite sore but the pain has diminished somewhat.  I was not exactly ready to roll this morning but I got up early enough to get in 2.5 miles in a time of 18:28 (7:23 pace).  Put out moderate effort to do it.  Perhaps I will feel more comfortable in the evening.  Race day is only 4 days away.

PM- Indoor 6 in 44:36 (7:26 pace) with pretty even splits (22:14/22:22).  Pace is back to normal and it felt pretty comfortable but the calf is still moderately sore and irritating.  It's expected to be less humid tomorrow and I hope for a moderate challenge at the Trak Shak workout.  Thinking a fast finish easy 5. No pills appears to be the right call for now.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=9.0

6/13- 3 full days off the pills now.  I'm continuing to improve.  The calf pain is almost gone now and should not be a factor on Saturday.  Planned workout was a fast finish easy 5 from the Trak Shak and it did not go as planned.  Finished in a time of 34:08 (6:50 pace).  The plan was to go no faster than 7:30 for the first 4 then bring it home with a sub-6 finish.  Instead, I ran an even 7 flat for the first 4 (7:00-6:50-7:03-7:07).  In mile 5, I was on pace through the first half mile then wilted around .7 and could not make it up at the end. Mile 5 ended up at 6:08 or roughly 5K race pace.  Weather was 88 and sunny but not too humid.  This projects to a 32:48 in ideal conditions.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=6.0

6/14- 2.5 mile junk run in 19:20 (7:44 pace).  Body feels more tired than it should.  Yesterday was pretty solid but it was far from epic.  I did feel a bit better as the run progressed.  Splits were 8:01-7:44-3:35 with a last 100 in 17.  Once again, I called on my top gear and it was there despite being tired.  Still not in tip top form and it seems unlikely that I will be on race day.  I do get a full 48 hours to rest.  Update:Crashed after work and woke up from a 2 hour nap feeling awful.  I need to go back on the pills and I'm fine with that.  Hope it's 2 Paramin just like before.
Grade:Pass/0 credit/distance=2.5

6/15- Planned rest day.  I expect to be fully fresh tomorrow.  Weather is looking very good for Atlanta in mid-June.  Low temp is expected to be in the lower 60s.  If I'm in top form, the heat won't be a factor.

6/16- Unable to fully overcome Thursday's relapse.  Possum Trot 10K in 41:19 (6:39 pace).  3rd place in age group but scored a silver because one of the overall winners was over 30.
Grade:B+/4 credits/distance=7.5

6/17- Lame Trak Shak 7 in 55:25 (7:55 pace).  In the last 2 miles, I was doing about 8:20 pace.  I am disgusted and will not comment further. This was almost a "D"
Grade:C-/1 credit/distance=7.0

Weekly summary:
I can't believe I made another 3.0 despite all this crap going on.  Patience is beginning to wear thin again.  If I'm not stable by the end of next week, I'll be officially angry.  On the diet front, I did drink beer with Nick by the pool but not to excess and managed to avoid caffeine and excess sugar.
Distance=32.0/GPA= 24.5/8= 3.06

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