Sunday, July 21, 2013

Training 7/22-7/28

As expected, I did not enjoy my week off but I hope that when it's time for racing season in the Fall, I'll be glad that I took it.  I was pretty much inactive for 7 days aside for a couple of leisurely 2.5 mile walks on Wisteria but I did sneak in about 200 yards of strides today, which did not feel good.  I expect to feel more rusty than fresh tomorrow but it's no reason to panic.  If I'm not improving within about 2 weeks, then I'm in big trouble.  I am hoping to get out there in the morning tomorrow with a 2 mile junk run.  The first run back is always rough but the second one is much better.

7/22- AM- Did the planned 2 mile junk run and felt slightly better than expected.  I ran it naked as planned.  It feels good to be a runner again.

PM- Lakeshore 5 in 36:40 (7:20 pace).  Way too fast for my current condition especially with the humid weather.  I'm only about a 1:40 half marathoner now so this was nearly tempo pace.  I was pleased overall with how I felt.  Splits were pretty even and I picked it up the last mile.  Only issues were a sore groin towards the end and stomach cramps but for my first day back, I was better than expected.  Need to get clean on the diet now.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=7.0

7/23- Gold's 5 on a nasty weather day.  Finished in 39:11 (7:50 pace).  My time was just about in line with my planned pace.  I was VERY sore when I woke up this morning.  Probably a combination of 2 forbidden drinks yesterday and a too hard workout for the first day back.  I was okay with my time but not how I felt and how I faded in the 2nd half.  Splits were 19:20/19:51 but I did keep it under 8 all the way.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=5.0

7/24- 3 mile tempo from the Shak.  Finished in 19:51 (6:37 pace).  Pretty solid performance.  I clearly felt different today and in a good way.  I'll probably rest tomorrow then go for it in a time trial on Friday.  I think I have a good shot at a sub-35.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=3.0

7/25- VICTORY!  5 miles in 34:06 (6:49 pace).  Fastest time since starting the transdermal magnesium. The difference that I referred to yesterday was mostly better heart and lung function.  My legs are still sore, especially the hamstrings, which is characteristic of magnesium deficiency.  This is a major point of confidence because the 34:14 was run when I was still on Thym-Adren.  I still have a LONG way to go.  I am :30/mile off my PR and do not feel NEARLY as well as I did when I was hot back in January.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=5.0

7/26- Planned rest day.  Knee was a bit sore yesterday evening.  Let's hope it is no concern.
Ended up doing a junk mile just to test out the knee.  It appears to be okay
Grade:None/0 credit/distance=1.0

7/27- Run with the Gnomes.  Hilly 10 mile route.  Actually it was 9.66 plus a cool.  Michael matched my pace well and I finished the 10 in a total of 77:50 (7:47 pace).  Solid performance.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=10.0

7/28- Easy 5 on Lakeshore in 38:53 (7:47 pace).  I was sore from yesterday but this one was a basic standard issue affair.  Average performance.  Fairly comfortable with a relatively even pace (19:20/19:33) but the back half is slightly uphill.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=5.0

Weekly summary:
Win #11 on the year.  It was close but I deserved it this time.  No collapse this week and no adjustment to the formula.  YES!  I have a glimmer of hope heading forward.  The big winner was the time trial and if I can get that down to the mid-32s, I'll consider myself "almost" all the way back.
Distance= 36.0/GPA= 27.2/9=3.02
YTD: 1,054 miles.  Record is 11-17 with a 2.62 GPA.

2 comments:

Yo Momma Runs said...

Looks like a great week of training. This was my first week back after a few weeks of partial rest and then a solid week of resting. My legs actually feel better than they have in a long time, so I'm very glad I took the time off. We'll see how they hold up at my 18-mile trail race on Saturday!

Crazy J said...

Thanks Lisa. Good luck in the trail race. Take it slow in the heat. Looks like the knee pain is due to the tight hamstring, which should not be a big deal.