training May 17th-23rd (race week)

5/17- easy 5 at Vestavia Hills track. Time was a good 37:56 with fairly even splits of 18:52-19:04. This would be an "A" if it was based solely on time but on easy days, my basis is primarily how I felt. I had a minor calf cramp at the end and some stiffness but still felt good overall. Low on chromium but can't be too aggressive with it because of the thyroid issue.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=5.0
5/18- first day on the new job, really have a good feeling about it and used those emotions in my favor today. 5 mile time trial on Lakeshore Drive in 33:36 (6:43 pace) PR by 42 seconds. Went out hard at the beginning (3:12 first half mile) and never really slowed down. Could have been even faster if not for some GI issues in the last half mile. Almost limitless energy today. Man, why didn't I feel this well on marathon race day? I could have broken 3:30. 1st half in 16:35 then held on for a 17:01 finish (2nd half was slightly uphill). 8K race on Saturday on a tough course. Goal is a sub-34, which may be good for a top 10 finish.
Grade:A+/3 credits/distance=5.5
5/19- 10 miles in 77:55 (7:48 pace). After starting too fast, miles 2-10 were all between 7:45-7:50. Maybe a little fast on an easy day but I never felt uncomfortable. Splits were 38:50/39:05 and skewed by a fast start so that's pretty even. I wasn't done after that. Cruised a 200 in 41 then sprinted another one in a strong time of 32.4 seconds. The speed is still there. This week is heavily front loaded because of my race on Saturday. Thurs will be easy, Friday will be a rest day. I feel great overall. "You're in the groove. Keep pushing."
Grade:A/2 credits/distance=10.5
5/20- Trak Shak 5 miler @ 7:20 pace. 3 straight quality workouts and my body feels a bit beat up but not too horrible. 1 mile cool down afterwards. I've earned an easy day followed by a rest day. Saw some old friends too. With these workouts, I am living up to my name.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=6.0
5/21-3 miles of junk running at Veteran's Park in Inverness. Time was 24:21 (8:07 pace). I stopped several times prior to changing directions. Didn't push it but didn't feel very well. I didn't expect to do well and was not disappointed. This was just a recovery run and I should be somewhat refreshed tomorrow and fully fresh on race day.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=3.0
5/22- earned a rest day.
5/23- Jubilee City Fest 8K in 34:00 plus long cool down.
Grade:A-/4 credits/distance=7.5
Weekly summary: Very good week overall, running wise and otherwise. I hope to stay in the groove and run some fast 5Ks this summer. Training will shift to more emphasis on speed.
Distance=37.5/Weekly GPA= 47/13 credits= 3.615