Training 9/22-9/28

9/22- New week. Same great result.  7 miles on Lakeshore in 49:43 (7:06 pace).  Felt very strong again.  As usual, it was a fast start followed by a bit of a slow down in Miles 4-5.  Finished with back to back 7:06s in Miles 6-7.
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=7.0

9/23- Good interval session at Vestavia.  10x400 with 2:00 R in sets of 5.  Averaged a 78.0 (5:12 pace).  That's a good indicator for the sub-5:15 Mile and I felt slightly less than fresh too.  Got heckled with the usual "Run Forrest Run."  Splits were (79-79-78-78-77) (79-78-79-79-74).  Glad that I got them all under 80 but I had hoped to get closer to 70 on the closer.  Strong overall.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=4.0

9/24- Perfect sunny and 75 weather.  Trak Shak 7.5 in 54:03 (7:12 pace).  I'm beginning to expect these types of workouts from myself.  I was doing great through 5.5 but was strugg-a-ling a bit over the last 2 miles.  Slipped to 7:30ish pace over that span but I knew I was well ahead of pace so it didn't matter.  A bit of soreness in the foot and the hips today so I may be stronger now but I am not indestructible.  I think I need to reduce the taurine.  PLEASE NO MORE SENSITIVITY!
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=8.0

Note to dog owners:
Please keep your dog on a short leash so you don't take up the whole trail.  If you let your dog run loose, don't be upset if somebody tells you politely to keep the dog on a leash.  I can't stop on a dime if one runs out in front of me.

9/25- AM.  Skipped the morning taurine dose.  We'll see if the soreness diminishes by afternoon.  I don't think it's training related because I feel more lethargic.  When I over-reach and am healthy, it's more of a dazed and dreamy feeling.  I must confess that I had a mini-relapse on caffeine last weekend and early this week but took C to ward off that issue.  Perhaps caffeine is interfering with the processing of taurine.  That doesn't make much sense but not a lot does with my system.

PM- 2 mile warm up followed by Lakeshore 5 in 36:57 (7:23 pace).  Standard issue run.  I hoped to turn it into a fast finish workout but I could get no lower than 6:35 pace early in Mile 5 so I shut it down and just cruised it in.  I've been back off caffeine for 48 hours and took a big load of taurine and I don't think I tightened up much.  That's good news.  Paces will have to slow down if I am to maintain 50ish MPW.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=7.0

9/26- Rough last night.  Taurine alone didn't seem to hurt me but after I took the Cal/Mag, I woke up in the middle of the night extremely sore. Another dose of taurine made it worse.  ADHS knocked out some of the stiffness.  2 nasty diarrhea episodes in the morning but felt better after each one.  What to make of this?  I don't know but I don't like it.  2 weeks ago, taurine helped prevent ill-effects from too much Mag.  Now, it makes it worse.  Hopefully, I just need to reduce the taurine and I'll be fine.  I'll be very interested to know my Mag status on next week's test.  If the RBC is over 6, I can cut the Mag down to 500, in which case, my need for taurine will diminish.
     Amid the drama, it was a planned rest day but I decided to do a Mile junk run on Wisteria.  Ran it at standard effort and clocked a solid 7:12.  That calms my nerves a bit.  Need a respectable long run to win this week but I'll give myself 2 chances.
Grade:Pass/0 credit/distance=1.0
Update: Learned that taurine "enhances magnesium's effect"

9/27- Failed the first attempt.  Crashed 4 miles into the group run.  Again, that REALLY MAKES ME LOOK BAD to the group, most of whom don't know about my issues and likely would not believe it if I told them the full extent.  Trudged on for another mile then had a short walk of shame back to my car.  Totaled 5 miles in 39:39 (7:55 pace) with splits of 8:01-7:27-7:24-7:32-9:12.  I will consider this my easy weekend day and try to re-group for a long run tomorrow.
Grade:C-/1 credit/distance=5.0
Update:  I did not take any Cal/Mag or taurine for 24 hours prior to the workout.  Took 500 of Cal/Mag when I got home and began feeling somewhat better. Took 500 mg taurine and also felt okay.  I need a "C" tomorrow to win the week.

PM- 3 mile Trak Shak loop as a test run in 21:39 (7:13 pace) with relatively even splits.  That's more like it!  Still didn't feel great but it was much better than the morning debacle.  Tacked on another mile as a cool down.  Need 14 tomorrow to hit 50 on the week but if I can do 10+ at a pace below 8:00, that will be good enough for the "C" that I need to win.
Grade:Pass/0 credit/distance=4.0

9/28- Lakeshore run.  Met the minimum standard for a long run with 10 miles in 76:52 (7:41 pace) plus a Mile cool. Improved over yesterday but still not feeling great.  1st half: 37:40, 2nd half: 39:12.  Miles 7-9 were all a hair above 8:00 but did not collapse and came back strong with a 7:15 split in Mile 10.  Average performance.  Maybe a bit lenient on the grading but I deserved the win this week.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=11.0

Weekly summary:
More upheaval and more tweaks may be needed but still a nice win overall.  I went 7-5 in the 3rd quarter, which is my first winning quarter since Q1 2013.  I'm looking into hiring a coach if I decide to go "all in" for the marathon.  If I am to do so, it will be Coach Will from Running Lane.  Of course, it all depends on my health.  If I am not stable, I am uncoachable because I am too inconsistent and often unable to do scheduled workouts. Clinched a 2.0 on the year and have finally pulled ahead of last year's pace in all categories
Distance=47.0/ GPA= 25.5/8= 3.19
YTD: 1,328 miles.  Record: 18-19 with a 2.73 GPA