Monday, August 15, 2011

Training 8/15-8/21 (possible race)

8/15- AM- BAFA day run was nothing worth celebrating. Cut the dosage down from 3.5 to 3 and this time, I felt too tight. That's right, 1/2 of a pill takes me from one side of the spectrum to the other even if I only take it once. What a life! LOUD SCREAMS OF FRUSTRATION! At least the thyroid pills still work. Maybe 3.25 will make me feel good.
Workout doesn't look too bad on paper (5 miles in 35:57- 7:11 pace) but I felt flat out terrible and was fading at the end. I had slowed to 7:30 pace before a mild pick up at the end. No power or spring in legs. Felt burdened with weights. If I only took 2 pills, it would have been MUCH worse. I am hoping that I am trending down and may eventually arrive at a point in which I no longer need these pills. Until I get a good medical report, I will not believe it. I should know in about a week.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=5.0

PM- I took about 1/4 of a pill and it felt like almost all my pain was washed away within minutes. This is simply too unstable. Tomorrow, I will try 2 pills along with 1 pill from another brand which is a bit stronger. I should have struggled after a relatively hard morning run but I did not. 5 miles at tempo effort in a time of 32:55 (6:35 pace). Last 800 was 3:04. I repeat, this was tempo effort, not all out and I was still within 12 ticks per mile of a PR on my 2nd run of the day. The advantage of being unstable is that you can come back real fast.
Grade:A-/2 credits/distance=5.5

8/16- The doc called today and the results are on the way. I just told them to mail it in because I preferred not to find out over the phone. With the exception of the initial diagnostic test, I have never been this worked up about the results and with good reason. I've never had such a dramatic shift in symptoms before. I'll know by Thursday or Friday at the latest. I am somewhat optimistic but at the same time, I am also prepared for the worst. It seems like the magic bullet is thyroid glandular substance at 500 mg (neither more nor less) and that amount may be trending down ever so slowly. Pills come in 150 or 200 mg so I can take 2x150 plus 1x200 and I should feel well.
Today, I returned to Johnny's workout for the first time in 4 weeks. 4x800 (2:50-2:48-2:48-2:47) followed by a Mile in a pretty solid 5:44. Overall pace for 3 miles worth of intervals was 5:39. Yes, I could feel yesterday's double but the legs responded well and the soreness was not debilitating. There's a local 5K on Saturday and I think I will give it a shot. That means nothing hard for the next 3 days and I'll take a rest day Thursday or Friday.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=5.0

8/17- Easy 5 at the Shak with a time of 37:37 (7:32 pace). No ill-effects at all from the last 2 days. I didn't really test myself today but I could tell even before I started that my body was a bit too loose. It seems that indeed my dosage is trending down ever so slowly. I will try 450 mg. again soon. Medical report may arrive tomorrow.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.5

8/18- AM. 2 mile junk run mostly just to test my formula. I clearly had it right as far as the pills go and hope to keep it that way at least until Saturday. I was sore from this week's workouts and struggled in the first half mile but once I got warmed up I was fine and it was almost time to quit. Not that this means anything but my time was 15:12 (7:36 pace) which was skewed by a mild pick up in the last 200. Not too tight. Not too loose. Just about right. I hope 48 hours is enough rest to be fully fresh.
Grade:Pass/0 credits/distance=2.0

8/19- Planned rest day. I expect to be fully fresh for the race and feel like my formula is working. Unfortuntely, the weather is not going to cooperate. Upper 70s with close to 90% humidity at race time. I dreamed that I visited a local high school and observed several students smoking openly in the hall. No medical report yesterday. I fully expect that it will be in the mail when I return from work.

8/20- Are UABle 5K in 19:45 plus a long cool down.
Grade:B/4 credits/distance=7.0

8/21- Tinkered with the Thym-Adren and it caused terrible leg pains. Stupid. I was thinking that maybe I could tolerate it because my oxidation rate was still quite fast. Not so. When the fast oxidation overrides the hypothyroid, it will be UGLY!
AM- 2.5 miles in 20:00 and hit the wall in Mile 2. Horrible!
PM- Somewhat better. 4.5 miles in 34:51 for an overall distance of 7 miles @7:50 while running almost all out. Terrible performance.
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance-7.0

Weekly summary:
Average race and average week overall. Emotionally drained. It could be like this for the rest of the year and that means probably no full marathon this Fall. It's so difficult to hit the sweet spot and if I'm a little off, I can still finish a half but not a full. Thyroid hormone test will be done soon.
Distance=37.0/ GPA= 32.3/11=2.94

No comments: