Training 5/2-5/8

NOTE: The stats page has revealed a lot of views of this post. I am happy to report that CHROMIUM IS NO LONGER A PROBLEM FOR ME! THIS BATTLE WAS WON AFTER GETTING A CHRONIC LOW-GRADE INFECTED ROOT CANAL REMOVED! Too much sugar in my diet likely played a role as well.

5/2- Following the weekend, it is clear that the lowered dosage of ADHS will not work. That leaves me with a choice of copper or chromium. It could be a pick your poison scenario. Copper can screw up thyroid function and chromium can screw up adrenal function. I'm going to give copper another try and must be very judicious. It could be a situation in which one pill is too many but a half will work. That's still preferable to what happened with the chromium. Today's workout gives me hope. 6 miles in 41:45 followed immediately by an 800 in 3:00. Overall pace was 6:53. Miles 3-6 were all between 6:49-6:54 and felt quite comfortable. This is a sub-1:31 half mary pace and I had enough left to burn the last half mile at an even 6 pace indoors. Without the tight turns and traffic, I would have been even faster.
Grade:A/2 credits/distance=7.0

5/3- Planned rest day. After 3 runs in the last 2 days all at tempo effort, this was a good call. Cold and rainy outside so it worked out well. Tomorrow is expected to be sunny with temps in the 60s so if I feel good, I'm going for it in the 5K. I do have to see the denty but all I need is a filling and it should not hurt me.

5/4- BAAAUHD! Denty says I may have a low grade infection in my gums and may need another tooth extraction. I tried a 5K time trial and ran a terrific first kilometer (3:43) feeling good and came through the first mile ahead of pace at 6:01 then faded badly. My calves had tightened up abnormally so just after the halfway point, I decided to DNF it. If I had continued, it would have been well over 20. I went home and popped a half a copper pill which made things worse. Trak Shak 3 in 26:48 (8:57 pace). That 3rd mile felt like the 23rd of a marathon. I must wait for the copper to clear my system. I know that 1 pill (2 mg) is too much. Maybe 1/2 or 1 mg will do the trick. If not, I have no choice but to accept chromium dependence. Looking forward to it clearing my system tomorrow.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=5.0

5/5- Lakeshore 5K in 22:56 plus warm and cool. First mile was 6:52 then the last 2 were in the 7:30s. No copper today and no improvement. Actually, I think I was worse than yesterday because at least yesterday, I ran well for the first mile. No resemblance to the guy who breezed through the miles at 1:30 half pace on Monday. I have no choice but to go back to the chromium. More on that later.
Grade:D-/1 credit/distance=5.0

5/6- Felt good for a couple of hours at work but the workout was a disaster. In a big mistake, I simply took one extra pill. I knew warming up that I was unbalanced and I simply guessed the wrong way. Par for the course, it is not surprising that on my first day of an adjustment, I am unsure of how to gauge my body's reaction. 1 mile in 7:49 plus a warm and cool.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=2.0

5/7- Finally a baby step in the right direction. Lakeshore 5 in 38:49 (7:46 pace). 1st half was 19:31, 2nd half was 19:18, which included a 7:32 last mile. No chromium this morning and it took an all out effort to run a normal easy pace. I can feel it clearing my system but I've still got a ways to go. Starting to worry about losing fitness from low mileage.
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance=5.0

5/8- AM- Another disappointment. I expected to be in the clear this morning but I am not. Not ready for a time trial. Hit the first mile in 6:15 and again the pace slowed markedly in lap 4 and struggled with shortness of breath so I quit on the time trial and turned the workout into a downward ladder. After the first Mile, I took 4 minutes rest and could not regain my speed.
1200- 4:56, 3 min rest, 800 in 3:17, 2 min. rest, 400 in 88. Overall pace was 6:23/mi, which is barely a sub-20 pace. I estimate that I was good for a 5K in the mid 21s and a Mile around 5:55. Not very good and only somewhat better than yesterday. I am puzzled by the slow recovery from this relapse.

P.M- Indoor 6 mile in 43:45 (7:18 pace). MUCH better this time. Fairly even splits. Every mile was 7:11-7:25. 1st half was 21:49, 2nd half was 21:56. I may be in the clear by tomorrow afternoon. Clearly, I have taken a significant step forward.
Grade:C/3 credits/distance=9.0

Weekly summary:
I am not happy at all. This was my worst week since January. Why the slow recovery from excess chromium? If I don't need it every day, that would be great. Then again, it could progress from once or twice a week to 3 per day very quickly.
Distance=33.0/GPA= 17/9= 1.89