Training 9/5-9/11

9/5- Manganese deficiency has flared up again. Started on an easy run and it started pouring rain immediately so I said "screw it" and quit. Heading south this afternoon and I'm taking the alternate route through OH, KY and middle TN. It's not as scenic but I should avoid much of the bad weather. I covered a meager mile and a half at a pace in the low 8s and I had to work a bit just to do that. Essentially a rest day. I may change this one to pass/fail grading.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=1.5

9/6- Spent the night just south of Louisville in the dry but soon after I hit the road in the morning, it started raining and never quit. I got back around 2 PM, rested a bit and hit the gym for an easy 8 in 62-flat (7:45 pace). I took a half of manganese and it helped but wasn't enough. In order to achieve a bit more stability, I'll have to take a small amount every day but I'm still not sure how much that is. I also don't know about the Stress Pak. I've been cheating badly on my diet especially when it comes to sugar consumption. I highly doubt that a change will solve everything but it can only help. As for the workout today, I would not have raced well but it was a pretty decent performance for an easy run. As the mileage increases, paces will slow. Easy runs will no longer be run at 7:30 pace but 7:45-8:00.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=8.5

9/7- Trak Shak 7 at tempo effort with Lee. Finished with a time of 50:45 (7:15 pace). Decent performance but I felt terrible most of the day. I took a record 3 manganese plus a chromium and could have used more. Just 3 days ago, I would have been HORRIBLE on this formula. What the _____? Dosage will rise and fall in a manner that is impossible to predict. Could it be related to the dental issue? I think the infection has been there several weeks before the pain began. That makes sense too. The low grade infection barely hurt at all and it was there for several months. Denty said that he'd call in antibiotics but they weren't there.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=7.0

9/8- After doing some research, I am now unsure if the chromium/manganese issue is related to the tooth. Back in '09, a root canal did not solve that issue and a tooth extraction did not immediately solve it either. Odds are, the relationship is indirect. The infection caused my adrenals to work harder which caused the extreme fast oxidation to override the chromium/manganese deficiency. I did quit drinking soda for 3 months which seemed to really help but eventually went back after in Achilles injury in early 2010.
Yesterday, I needed at least 3 manganese pills. Today, I took 1 and it made me sick. What the _____? Today was my first day off soda and that may explain why I could not tolerate it. The workout was a junk run. 2 miles at Veterans Park in 15:54 (7:57 pace) with an all out last mile in 7:46. I expect to be modestly better tomorrow but hope to show steady progress thereafter.
Grade:Pass/0 credit/distance=2.0

9/9-AM- As expected, the improvement was modest but at this stage, I'll take it. 3 miles all out in a time of 22:56 (7:38 pace). Equivalent to a 5K in about 23:52 so that's 4.5 minutes off my PR set less than a week ago. Held the pace pretty well and had a little bit left at the end (7:37-7:47-7:32) but zero power in my entire body. Way too loose. 2nd day off soda and I'm starting to get a caffeine withdrawal headache. I can fix that with Exedrine if necessary. 1st day off manganese. I increased my distance by 50% over yesterday and my pace was nearly 20 seconds faster so I'll be lenient with the grade.

PM- Same 3 Mile run. Definitely improving. Time was down to 20:40 (6:53 pace) and that's equivalent of a 21:32 5K. Splits were 7:09-6:45-6:45. Man, I wish it was this easy to drop 2 minutes from my 5K time when I'm down in the 19s.
Grade:C/2 credit/distance=6.0

9/10- Naked run (no watch) with Gnomes. Garmin malfunction. I know the distance was just short of 10 miles and I know I threw down some 6:50s running on Lakeshore but I estimate that my time was either 73:xx or low 74. I don't feel that I'm all the way back and that's why I didn't run 15+ today. Too bad, the weather is really getting nice now. Most definitely, I am improving.
Grade:B+/2 credit/distance=10.0

9/11- Lakeshore 5 in 41:04 (8:13 pace). Poor performance overall but there's more to this than meets the eye. 1st half in a horrible 21:28 with absolutely nothing there. 2nd half was a respectable 19:36 with a fifth mile in a pretty solid 7:35. Felt a difference after I went to the bathrooom so that means some toxins were being flushed out during the run. Stress Pak will not work because for whatever reason I can no longer take any choline/inositol. It's either Thym-Adren or failure at this stage.
Grade:C-/1 credit/distance=5.0
PM- Bonus run. Looking to build on improvement in the 2nd half of the morning run and did more than that. 2.5 mile quickie progression style indoors in a time of 17:22 (6:57 pace) with splits of 7:20-6:58-3:04. I also got some more toxins out of my system and I won't be too detailed but I actually felt pretty good after the run was over. I could be back to form by tomorrow and would like to do a time trial early in the week.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=3.0
10 years ago today, I was a junior in college and had just gotten out of Intermediate Accounting class. I was taking a nap in my dorm when my roommate walked in and said "Dude, go online. I heard a plane crashed into the World Trade Center." I did not say anything noteworthy in reply because I thought it was an accident and didn't even know it was a commercial jet. That changed when I saw the news coverage from the cafeteria at lunch a few minutes later.

Weekly summary:
Another bad week overall. This is the 3rd week out of the last 4 below 3.0 but this time, I actually have an idea of what can be done about it. No manganese for 3 days. If I can make it through next week without it, I'll feel a lot better about my situation.
Distance=43.0/ GPA= 26/10= 2.60