Training 6/18-6/24

6/18- 6 miles indoors at goal marathon pace.  Finished in 43:45 (7:17 pace) with a smooth and comfortable effort then smoked an 82 on the last quarter mile.  As for the Paramin, I took 4 on Friday, 3 on Saturday and I've since gone down to 2 and hope to stay there.  I did not feel very well in the morning but got better as the day progressed.  I've been told that I was too hard on myself after my last race.  My response is that if I can't break 40 because of talent or fitness limitations, I could accept that. If it's stolen from me because of unbalanced chemistry, I'll never be okay with that.  Good day today.  We'll see how it goes for the rest of the week.
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=7.0

6/19- Sprint workout at Hoover.  5x200, 6x100 with a 1:1 jog R.  Split decision.  I ran naked as usual so it's all based on feel.  The 200s felt decent but nothing special.  The first 3 100s felt great but at the end of #3, I felt my hamstring tighten up so I just cruised the last 3 at rather slow paces.  Fortunately, the rest of me also felt tight and I may need to up my Paramin to 3.  NOOOO!  I was able to do the mile cool down without a problem so it's unlikely to be an injury.
Grade:B-/2 credit/distance=4.0

6/20- AM.  Indoor mile jog in 7:34 just to ease the injury fear.  I would have done more but didn't want to be late for work.  The hamstring is still sore but likely not injured.  Even pace but body feels very tight.  I had a slip up in my diet last night (caffeine) and hope I don't have to pay a price for it.  Easy Trak Shak run this evening. 
Update: I believe that the Naked juice fruit/veg drink that I've been consuming regularly of late is causing me problems.  It's got over 50 grams of sugar but it's supposedly all naturally contained in the fruit with "no sugar added." Maybe it's harmless but my erratic performances cannot be ignored.  I'm cutting it out and will save money in doing so.  I only need Gatorade on runs longer than 8 miles and other than that, I'll be just drinking water.  Hard but well worth it.  I expect to suck this evening and it could be rough for another 5 days.  I may skip the long run this weekend and hit the coast instead.

PM- 2 mile warmup indoors in an acceptable 15:38 (7:49 pace) followed by a Trak Shak 5 in a torrid 42:04 (8:25 pace).  The only good news is that my hamstring is going to be fine.  I cheated on my diet in almost every way tonight.  I'm already hurting.  What difference will it make?  I will start over again clean tomorrow but could be feeling worse before it gets better.  No panic yet.  If I remain erratic on only water, that is a panic.  With the exception of the flu in April, this may be my worst run of the year.  At least I got some mileage in today.  Thanks for all the likes about my race on Facebook.  In years past, a low 41 would have been a very good performance but not in 2012. 
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=8.0

6/21-  Progress is progress I suppose.  Today's workout was a lame indoor 5 miler in a time of 40:52 (8:10 pace).  That's 15 ticks better per mile than yesterday's debacle.  Day 1 on drinking water only.  I did not expect to improve significantly today after last night (sugar, caffeine and alcohol).  I should be somewhat better tomorrow.  I can't go to Florida tomorrow night because of the rip current advisory.  Another BUST!
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance=5.0

6/22- Felt different when I woke up today and it showed in the workout.  Still limited myself to 5 miles indoors but my time is down to 38:02 (7:36 pace).  Even pace as well.  Never went over 7:43 and finished with a sub-7:30.  Under normal circumstances, this is nothing worth celebrating.  My pace was near normal for an easy run but my effort was nearly tempo level.  Day 2 on water only.  I expect to be full strength in 3-5 more days.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=5.5

6/23- Warm and sunny run with the Gnomes.  Finished 8 miles in 63:09 (7:54 pace) on a hilly route.  Not a significant difference from last night but it was only 12 hours after my last run.  Nobody was pushing it so I was at the front of the pack.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=8.0

6/24- AM 5 mile tempo.  Body felt too loose but my time is down to 34:30 (6:54 pace).  I'm tougher on myself on these quality days.  My best time at this distance is a 31:54 so that's 31 off per mile.  I can't call this one any better than average.  Faded in Miles 3-4 but had a lot left in the last quarter mile.  1st half was 16:52, 2nd half was 17:38.  Again, progress is progress.  Day 4.

PM- Naked 2.5 mile junk run at Veteran's Park.  Sole purpose was to pad my mileage.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=7.5

Weekly summary:
This ends a winning streak that really should have ended long ago.  Rotten week and it's been a pretty rotten 2nd quarter but my morale is not too bad right now because at least I have an idea of how to fix this issue.  Ran or jogged all 7 days.  God is able to heal but not if I put poison (sugar) in my body.
Update: Relapsed again Sunday night but it was because I took an extra pill.
Distance=45.0/GPA= 22.1/9= 2.45