Training 4/22-4/28

4/22- Back in Birmingham and I have good news and bad news today.  The good is that it is beginning to feel as if my chemistry is coming in line.  The bad is that I am coming down with some type of infection, probably due to the wild temperature swings.  Fortunately, it does not appear to be anything more serious than a head cold.  My throat is really irritated and swallowing is painful but other than that, I feel pretty decent.  Workout was 5 miles on Lakeshore in a solid time of 35:54 (7:11 pace) with pretty even splits.  1st half: 17:54, 2nd half: 18-flat.  I may feel worse tomorrow so it's likely no intervals until later in the week.  If it was worse than a cold, I would not have run so well today more than 12 hours after symptoms began to appear. 2nd day off the Thym-Adren.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=5.0

4/23- Hit 20K blog views so once again, thanks to all my readers.  Ugly tempo today.  4 miles in 27:20 (6:50 pace) with a massive fade.  1st half: 12:50, 2nd half: 14:30.  This was not a surprise because the second day with a cold is usually the worst.  The throat irritation is beginning to subside and the runny nose is starting to kick in.  Added a mile cool on Wisteria when I got home.  Funny story:  I'm walking up to my apartment in workout clothes and a man waiting for a bus asked me if I had any cigarettes.  I just politely said: "No sir."  I may rest tomorrow.
Grade:C/2 credits/distance=5.0

4/24- NIGHTMARE!  My worst fears have been realized.  Once again, I cannot take B-6.  I thought that without it, I might have to go back to the Thym-Adren.  I learned the hard way that I do not.  As of now, my only option is to take the magnesium without the B-6.  In the future, my only options are transdermal magnesium and/or ADHS (modulator supplement).  The workout was a junk run.  1 mile warm in 7:56, took half a Thym-Adren and an all out effort yielded a half mile in 4:21 (8:42 pace).  Time to get the B-6 out of my system and at least for now, stay off the Thym-Adren.  I'm only 10 days out from my next race and it does not look good.
Grade:F/0 credit/distance=1.5
Update: Enzymes such as lactase may help with B-6 intolerance.  Worth a try.

4/25- Day 4 with the cold and I remain symptomatic.  Primary concerns are chills and a stuffy nose.  Not up for anything hard but I showed a lot of improvement over yesterday.  Lakeshore 5 in 37:55 (7:35 pace), which is barely within the range.  Faded pretty badly at the end too.  1st half: 18:32, 2nd half: 19:27.  Tried some B-6 with enzymes when I got home and it has been confirmed that I cannot take it.  I hope that it will be out of my system by tomorrow evening or I will have to take a penalty.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=5.5

4/26- DISASTER!  B-6 may not have cleared and taking magnesium made things worse.  I'm going back to Paramin.  Failed the speed session.  1x200 in :58 then quit.  Jogged a little to hit 1 mile on the day.  Foot is hurting again.
Grade:F/1 credits/distance=1.0

4/27- Run with the slow Gnomes and I could not even hack it with them either.  Finished 6 miles on a hilly route in a time of 53:35 (8:56 pace) with Mile 6 over 10:00.  BAAAUHD!  My new theory is that I have over-reached on the magnesium and it will take time to get to equilibrium.

PM- Indoor 3 in 22:27 (7:29 pace) with a negative split.  Last mile in 7:19.  Continuing to improve gradually.  This takes me up to 9 @ 8:27 on the day, which is still very poor.
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance=9.0

4/28- Indoor 6 in 44:56 (7:29 pace).  I have doubled the distance from yesterday afternoon and maintained the same pace.  1st half: 22:34, 2nd half: 22:22.  I was feeling different (in a good way) starting last night so I was actually hoping for a little better.  I will take any improvements that I can get.  Steady, gradual improvement leads to more stability.  I am only taking Paramin and C.

PM- 3 miles at tempo effort in a time of 20:57 (6:59 pace).  Even pace with splits of 6:58-7:03-6:56.
A 30 second improvement in pace is something that I will take any day.
Grade:B-/2 credits/distance=9.0

Weekly summary:
Of course, I am not pleased in any way but I do have some optimism going forward.  I am not due for a medical report for another 3 weeks but I really need to know what is going on now.  If my theory of over-reaching on the Thym-Adren and magnesium is correct, it may take a few weeks to gradually get back to form but once that happens, there is a chance that it will merely be preventative maintenance from that point.  As for the Pensacola 10K next weekend, my gut feeling is to go and treat it as a fun run.  I've already missed 2 races due to illness so if I feel good enough to enjoy the experience, I'm going to Florida on Friday for state #6.
Distance= 36.0/ GPA= 17.1/8= 2.14
YTD: 634 miles, Record: 8-8 with a 2.70 GPA.