Training 1/7-1/13 (race week)

1/7- Planned rest day.  I'm a little concerned that I pushed it too hard last week.  I will say that last Saturday's long run was NOT a race level effort.  If I had run 16 all out, I would not have been capable of 5@ sub-7:30 with relative ease the next day.  60% chance of rain on Sunday.  Let's hope it changes.  I expect to run very few miles until the big day so this is a steep taper.

1/8- Johnny's workout.  6x400 at 90% of my normal speed.  I was consistent in the upper 70s-low 80s, which is just about what I had planned to do.  Not a bad workout but felt a little off and got worse as the evening progressed.  I may have forgotten to take the Vitamin C this morning.  Either that or I need 2 of those per day.  I'll find out tomorrow.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=3.5

1/9- 4 miles in 26:50 (6:43 pace).  Ran it indoors because of darkness and a threat of rain.  Again, not a bad workout but obviously not in top form.  Body is clearly too tight.  Did not plan to go this fast but needed a test after the hiccup yesterday.  NO way that I could have done this for 13.1.

Update:  Extra vitamin C appears to be a good call but I may need to reduce the Thym-Adren.  I'm fine with increasing the C a little bit but after seeing how bad the medical report was, I MUST take at least 6 Thym-Adren per day or it's pretty much hopeless.  Sad but true.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=4.5

1/10- This is a planned rest day but I will probably end up doing a junk run or some strides in the afternoon.  I still need Thym-Adren, which is good. More good news is that I do NOT need chromium or manganese. The dosage remains a question mark and the flight to LA is tomorrow afternoon.  The bad news is that my IT band is sore, which was the first sign of something wrong last winter.  As of now, I will run a "decent" race in the low-mid 1:30s but well short of what I would have done last week.

PM- 1 mile junk run in 7:30 and felt terrible.  It's got to be the copper and I must get rid of as much of it as possible.  The protein bar that I eat contains as much copper as 5 pills so it must be cut out.  At least for the short-term, I will take as much Vitamin C as needed.
Grade:D-/0.5 credit/distance=1.0

1/11- I did plan on running this morning but I don't feel up to it.  I have no choice but to quit the pills for at least a few days.  The race is still a go but a good time is looking very iffy now.  Flight is at 1:53 PM.  I get to Denver at 4:05 and L.A. at 7:45.  As for the future, I've got to try something different with no copper.  Going off all pills long-term will spell certain doom.

1/12- Full day in So-Cal.  The hotel is in Marina del Rey and I had to go all the way to Torrance (near Long Beach) to pick up my packet.  From there, I took the Pac Coast Hwy from Venice to Malibu then US-101 and 23 to Simi Valley to tour the Reagan presidential library.  I am feeling better today.  Perhaps, all I needed was to cut out that protein bar for breakfast.  I am back to my normal dosage of Thym-Adren and Vitamin C, which is excellent news.  I'm not feeling a lot of pressure to deliver a good performance and historically, that usually (not always) bodes well for race day.
Workout was a junk run.  Approx. 1 mile on the sidewalk near the hotel with a few strides at the end.
Grade:B+/0.5 credit/distance=1.0

1/13- Official result was a 1:30:53 (#2 all time).  I was robbed of my 2nd sub-90 due to one portajohn stop and more stomach cramps that forced me to slow down at the end.  Full race report and trip report will come in another couple days.  I was still pleased overall.
Grade:A-/4 credits/distance=14.0

Weekly summary:
Solid race result enabled me to win my 5th straight decision despite a scary hiccup.  Mileage was very low but I'm not as concerned with that this year.  I still plan on shifting to more speed oriented training.  I'll be running my home race in Birmingham 5 weeks from now and want a sub-90 with no dispute.  The long runs will continue to be a part of my training.  I will be doing fewer MLRs and replacing tempos with intervals.
Distance=24.0/GPA= 25.2/8= 3.15