Monday, July 25, 2011

Training 7/25-7/31

7/25- SHOCKER! 10K time trial in 40:44 (unofficial PR) by 11 seconds. 1st half: 20:11, 2nd half 20:33. Splits: 6:25-6:25-6:34-6:36-6:37-6:33-1:34. Started off at a 40:00 pace and felt pretty comfy for 2 miles but could not quite hold it just yet. I think I left a few seconds out there too. No monster kick because I knew that the PR was a sure thing with 400 to go. I have switched to Thym-Adren and Stress-Pak, both of which are regulatory supplements. I'm going with it until it stops working. I'm just enjoying this high and trying not to get my hopes up too high.
Grade:A/3 credits/distance=7.0

7/26- AM run less than 12 hours later. Not enough sleep and too much celebrating last night. I managed 5 miles in 39:08 (7:50 pace). That's slower than my recent easy pace but I'm fine with that. According to McMillan, that's more like the pace I should be running on my easy days. Slight fade in the 2nd half (19:27/19:41) but I'm still okay with this workout.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.5
Edit: Very tired in the afternoon and will need a good rest tonight. Here are a couple of fun facts about yesterday's run. It projects to a 1:30:xx half and a 3:11 full. 2 seconds faster would have projected a BQ under the old standards. At the time of my current 5K PR (19:27), my 10K time was only a 42:43, which I bettered by a full minute before the end of the year. Still, if I can improve the 10K so much, why has my 5K been stuck for so long? Bad luck. Simple as that. I know I can beat that time and I do believe that my goal is doable right now.

7/27- Trak Shak 5 plus cool down. Time was pretty decent given the conditions. Finished at 34:46 (6:57 pace). I was not pleased with how I died in the 2nd half. It was a combination of the pills and the heat and the former was the greater factor. Splits were 6:34-6:43-6:58-7:16-7:15.
Actually felt great through about 1.9 miles then my legs tightened up and I could feel the balloon deflate. I felt unwell for much of the day as well. I will try cutting the Stress Pak and boosting the Thym-Adren. I'll send in the medical report in 2-3 weeks. How to grade this? I'll be somewhat generous because I did hit sub-7 pace overall but the last 2 miles were in the C range
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=5.5

7/28- 6x200 with a half mile warm and 2 mile cool. Slowest was 31.5, fastest was 29.2. 3 of the remaining 4 were 30 and I did mange one more 29. Probably my best such workout of the year but I don't think I've got 59.9 speed right now. It would be more like 62. As planned, I reduced the Stress Pak and increased the Thym-Adren. Maybe a tad overstimulated but still pleased with the results. No spikes. Ran in the Kinvaras and found it a little difficult to get on the toes.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=4.0

7/29- Planned rest day. Discomfort in the metatarsal area. Kinvaras are great for tempos and long intervals but don't provide enough support for a hard core speed workout that requires a lot of toe running. Upped the dosage a bit by accident and went too far.

7/30- Hot group run. Got through 12.5 miles in 1:39:51 (7:59 pace) and yes, I had to push at the end to make it under 8. I took a lot of water stops towards the end. Body feels too tight and if this new stuff doesn't work, I am out of options. Metatarsals held up okay though.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=12.5

7/31- Yet another relapse overnight. Very tight. sore and depressed. Went with raw thyroid caps which helped a bit but did not provide the immediate relief that I wanted. I tried to run a tempo today but could not. Came through 2 miles in 14:14 with very little energy left and a slowing pace so I walked a lap then jogged 3 more miles in 23:54 with a pretty even pace then a half mile cool to hit the mileage quota. Overall time was 38:08 (7:38 pace). That's a good pace for an easy run but not a tempo. Since today was a bit of both, I will be lenient and only count it as an easy run but based on feel, this was not good by any stretch.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=5.5

Weekly summary:
This latest relapse could break my will permanently. I have no idea what's going on. All I can do is order another hair test ahead of schedule and I want to get my thyroid hormones tested too (blood work). If the results are not what I hope this time around, I will pretty much lose hope that this is going to work for me. Give it more time? It's been 5 years. I can handle being a bit unbalanced and would not even mind being a little slower but I CANNOT take being chemically unstable but part of me is preparing to accept that as my fate.
Distance=40.0/GPA= 35.3/11=3.21 (skewed by 1 great run)
Note: If I took the same pills on 7/31 that I took on 7/25, I could not even finish 1 Mile.

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