Training 12/17-12/23

12/17- AWFUL!  Lakeshore 5 in 42:43 (8:33 pace).  1st half was a weak 19:15 then it got worse and worse from there.  Mile 5 was around 10:30 and I felt some Achilles tightness.  Fortunately, it does not seem to be an injury but I took no chances.  The medical report is in the mail and will arrive no later than Thursday.  The doc told me what I already knew.  My thyroid and adrenals are elevated.  By how much?  We shall see.  I am going to look into enzyme supplements and try taking 1.25 pills.  Countdown is 13 now.  Ordered an enzyme supplement.  Will also try choline/inositol but I have little confidence that it will work.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=5.0

12/18- AM- 2 mile junk run in 14:47 (7:23 pace).  Not a significant difference in how I feel.  I'm hitting the health food store at lunch time.  Another idea is more vitamin C.  Achilles remains tender but it's all related to the imbalances.  Pushing too hard will likely lead to injury.  I am 2 miles closer to 2,000.  Only 11 to go now.

PM- 5 miles in 37:19 (7:28 pace).  Massive improvement over yesterday.  I took some vitamin C and got the desired effect (more over-stimulation).  This allowed me to try some more Thym-Adren.  I feared that my body would tighten up immediately but it didn't happen.  In fact, I was still too loose after 5 more of those pills.  Just 3 days ago, 1.5 was too much for me and now I need mega doses again.  The reason has to do with vitamin C's chelation effect on copper, which I believe to be the reason I had trouble with Thym-Adren.  More on this subject will come in the Medical report post, which likely will be only understood by me.  I took some choline/inositol after I finished the run and this time my body did tighten up so that's unlikely to be the answer.  It could work if taken without Thym-Adren or taken with enzymes.  I'll try it later.  As for the run, I felt good early, got into a rut in the middle and finished pretty strong.  1st half: 18:36, 2nd half: 18:43.  Still, 3.5 weeks out from L.A, which should be time to turn this around.  Countdown stands at 5.5 so I should make it tomorrow, Thursday at the latest.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=7.5

12/19- Again, mega dose of Thym-Adren resulted in a mega improvement.  Trak Shak 5 at moderate effort.  It's too dangerous to run that course for a tempo in the dark even with a group.  Finished in 34:32 (6:54 pace) with a last mile in 6:31.  Added a half mile cool to bring my yearly total to an even 2,000 miles.  1st half:17:20, 2nd half: 17:12.  Never slowed beyond 7:08 and Mile 4 is net uphill.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=5.5

12/20- Every day and in every way, getting better and better.  I learned today that I will need to take Vitamin C every day or my body will stiffen up because of the copper issue.  I prefer to only take 1 per day but if it has to be 2, I'm fine with it.  Today was my tempo day and it went well.  5 miles in 32:45 (6:33 pace).  Probably good enough for a low 41 in a 10K race, which is still about 10-15 seconds per mile from my best.  That feels about right.  I got off to a great start but my pace gradually slowed before I managed a decent but not great finish.  Splits were 6:23-6:31-6:38-6:44-6:29.  Solid but not stellar.  This one is good for 6.6 quality points and leaves me just 16.3 short of clinching the 3.00 for the year and I'll have 11 more credits to make it.  No medical report in the mail but I already basically know the results.  Tomorrow for sure.  
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=6.0

12/21- AM.  Easy 3 indoors in 22:39 (7:33 pace).  Average performance.  I didn't take enough pills immediately upon rising and it takes some time for them to fully kick in.  Slow start but I was moving decently well by the end.  Splits were: 7:45-7:27-7:27.  2.7 quality points for this one.  Countdown stands at 13.6 with 10 credits left.  Looking good.  Long tomorrow and I think I can handle it.  Sunday will be a travel day and a planned rest, which is why I ran today.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=3.0

12/22- AM-Probably my best long run EVER!  Trak Shak 9-9 loop in 2:08:01 (7:07 pace).  All 18 miles were below 7:30 and the fastest one was Mile 18 at 6:38.  1st half: 63:40, 2nd half: 64:21.  That's less than 5 ticks per mile difference.  Passed 13.1 in 1:32:45 with barely a hint of fatigue.  The next 4 were a bit of a struggle but included some hills.  It was not quite as great as it sound though.  I had to stop for traffic several times especially in the Brookwood area and took a long drink and bathroom stop (approx. 5 min) after completing the first 9 mile loop. This was only my fifth day on the new formula so I'm sure there is room for more improvement.

PM- I realized that all I needed was 2 more miles at 8:30 to hit my 20@7:15 so I hit Wisteria for a junk run.  Finished 2 miles in 16:36 for an overall performance of 20@7:14.  On a downhill course, I believe that right now, I have a chance to run a 3:10 BQ but that attempt is still almost 2 years away.  Let's also not forget that I ran a tempo just 2 days earlier.  I earned 8.6 points for this one, which leaves me just 5 short.  Hopefully, I can do it within 2 workouts.
Grade:A+/2 credits/distance=20.0

12/23- Travel day.  Planned rest.

Weekly summary:
Win #33.  That ties last year's total.  A good final week will put me in position to beat last year's 3.04 GPA.  I need 63 miles to beat last year's distance total and will not try for that.  With the 2 travel days and being out of my routine, a winning week will not come easily.  Is Vitamin C the long-term answer?
Distance=47.0/GPA= 25.6/8= 3.20