Training 7/29-8/4

7/29- Good start to the week.  Hilly 8 miler through Mountain Brook in a fine time of 59:14 (7:24 pace) at moderate effort.  Route was Brownell-Canterbury-Montevallo-Jack's Shell then back to the Shak and down to Brownell.  I knew it was a hilly route but I thought the distance was only 6ish.  It was actually 7.89 and I added a loop around the parking lot to make it an even 8.  Amazingly even pace given the terrain.  Splits ranged from 7:17-7:30.  Temp was 85 and dry, which is nice for this time of year but far from ideal for distance running (it's perfect for sprinting).  Feeling more like myself but still have quite a ways to go.
Grade:A/2 credit/distance=8.0

7/30- A bit of a letdown, which was not a surprise given what I did yesterday.  Workout was a short pyramid with little rest (200-400-600-800) then down.  I bailed on the 2nd 800 and struggled from behind to hit the time target of 85/lap (5:40 pace).  Splits were 42-85-2:08-2:57-2:09-83-34.  Considering that my 2 mile PR is 86/lap running continuous and I could barely manage that with rests, I've got a long way to go.  I'm having some issues with water retention, which could be Magnesium related.  I could either reduce my use of the gel or add Copper + Vitamin C.  I would prefer the former option.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=3.0

7/31- Trak Shak 5 with Preston for the first time in a long time.  Moderate effort and finished in a time of 36:30 (7:18 pace).  Solid but not stellar.  Overcast with temps in the low 80s but very humid.  Felt better on less gel and will continue with that plan through tomorrow.  I will try some Copper with C after tomorrow's run and we'll see if I'm better with or without.  Hoping the answer is without.  I know that Mg citrate doesn't work for me but other forms besides Mg chloride might.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=5.5

8/1- Another step forward!  YES!  Gold's 5 mile time trial and my time is down to 33:50 (6:46 pace).  1st half: 16:48/2nd half:17:02.  That's a modest 16 second improvement over the last week but once again, what I am looking for is a STRING of modest improvements.  I was slightly less than fresh as well.  Improve the pace by only 3 ticks per mile every week and I am in the 32s by the end of the month.  I'll consider that to be "decent" racing shape.  Heading to Charleston, SC for the weekend and will be hard pressed to get a lot of running in.  Barring disaster, I am going to win back to back times for the first time since March.  We'll see what the copper+ C does now.
Grade: B+/2 credits/distance=5.5

8/2- The copper +C is not the answer.  I was much worse immediately but most of it cleared by today.   The answer is to reduce the magnesium gel.  Pretty much a travel day for me but we did have time to take a dip in the ocean then ran a challenging 4 miles on the beach.  The sand was hard enough for the most part but it was sloped and very breezy out there.  Finished in a decent time of 31:24 (7:51 pace) with a negative split (16:10-15:14) but the back half was slightly downhill.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=4.0

8/3-AM- 2 mile junk run on the road (Ocean Blvd.)  It was a struggle.  The heavy sea air, 80 degree temps and near 100% humidity made it rough.  I was not up for much more.  Pace was a solid 7:06 and was even all the way.
Grade :Pass/ 0 credit/ distance= 2.0

8/4- Naked 3 miler on the beach.  Where else? LOL.  Very slow pace.
Grade: None/ 0 credit/distance= 3.0

Weekly summary:
Back to back wins.  I feel like I am on the right track.  Let's keep it up.
Distance= 31.0  GPA= 26.3/8= 3.28
YTD: 12-17.  1,085 miles/  GPA is about 2.64.