Training 7/2-7/8

7/2- OUTSTANDING!  Easy 6 in 42:28 (7:05 pace/ 3:05 marathon).  Very smooth and relaxed.  I could have easily done 10 more at this pace, perhaps more.  Negative split as well (21:20-21:08) and dipped under 7 in the last mile without even trying.  Sure, I had a 36 hour rest and a lot of soul searching in between runs but this is a tremendous start to the 2nd half.  Heat wave has diminished but the humidity has kicked in full force.  6 more weeks until the heat and humidity begins to fade.
Grade:A+/1 credit/distance=6.5

7/3- Planned rest day to remain fresh for Peavine.  Note to self: Start out SLOW.  If the hills don't get me, the heat will.  I'm treating this like a training run but a sub-60 would sure be nice.

7/4- Peavine Falls run in 58:40.  Mission accomplished.  Average pace was about 7:08.  Added a warm and cool.
Grade:A-/3 credits/distance=9.5

7/5- Easy 10K in 47:14 (7:33 pace).  Very sore but I managed to get through it unscathed.  Slight fade in the 2nd half  (23:28-23:46) but that's only 6 sec/mile difference.  I'm hoping to get a speed session in tomorrow but if I'm too sore, I'll have to bail.  Fun fact about yesterday:  My pace was 32 seconds faster than back in '08.  In the Fall of that year, I ran a 42:43 10K on Vulcan's course (26/mile) short of a sub-40.  I am right on the cusp.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=7.0

7/6- Not surprisingly, I was not fresh enough for an all out sprint workout so I made it a semi-quality day instead. No penalty because of the race Wednesday.  It may have been 5 miles short of a half mary but on that course, it's just as punishing.
 4 miles at moderate effort (6:56-6:54-6:52-6:54)= 27:36 then another mile hard. Temp was near 100 so I stayed indoors. I was shooting for 5K race pace and clocked a strong 6:06.  That would have been under 6 outdoors without all those turns.  Overall time was 33:42 (6:44 pace).  Strangely, I WAS sore but my cardio was amazingly strong.  I could not believe how fast I was going in those first 4 miles but the soreness is a concern, esp. the foot (arch area).  Not too worried about it yet.  I just need to wear my orthotics more often.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=5.5

7/7- Well, I reached my limit today.  Again, not a smart decision to run with all sub-3 marathoners less than 12 hours after finishing a quasi tempo run.  Gnome run to downtown and back which followed part of the Mercedes route.  You can't get to downtown without going up and down Red Mountain and the second time is a killer.  This was after a 6 mile stretch from the end of Mile 2 to  Mile 8 in which the pace was 7:05-7:15 all the way.  After that, I was dead and it was raining.  I actually had to walk up part of Red Mountain via 20th St.  Finished with 11 miles in 84:17 (7:40 avg. pace) and that includes a 9:50 for Mile 10.   Average performance

PM- Junk run at Red Mountain Park.  Just wanted to check out the trails. From what I saw, it's not as hilly as the name implies.  The trail appears to the wide, well maintained and free of hazards to the ankles.  While I prefer the road, I could hit the trail every so often for an easy one. Covered 1.5 miles at junk pace in 90 degree temps with full sun.  That puts me up over 40 on the week and gives me the option to rest tomorrow if I choose.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=12.5

7/8- I opted for the easy day instead of the rest.  My tired body managed 4.5 miles indoors in 34:40 (7:43 pace) plus a 1/2 mile cool.  Very sore and wiped out.  Dreamed that I was stranded in the Dallas airport (never been there IRL) and I tried in vain to get a hold of my boss and also chugged a large beer.  Not an all time bizarre dream but still pretty funny.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=5.0

Weekly summary:
When I am off the pills, yes I can train harder and more consistently but I am not indestructible either and I was really hurting over the weekend.  No speed work but a lot of hills and good mileage with solid paces.  I'm now 24 miles up on 2K/year pace with 24 weeks to go.   I've now made it 10 days off the pills or a third of the way to the magic number of confidence.  I had one very small slip up on Saturday (3-4 oz of Red Bull) but poured the rest down the drain so I stayed below the limit.  This is a winning week overall with nothing under a "B-" but I still haven't hit a 3.5 since March.
Distance=46.0/ GPA=33.1/10=3.31