Traditionally, the third quarter of the year has not been kind to me and this year was no exception. I stand at 14 wins and 23 losses on the year with a 2.54 GPA. By comparison, I was 24-13 last year with an even 3.00. If I continue at this pace, I will end up worse than 2010 in which I missed 8 weeks due to injuries and had to take zeroes for those weeks. After a respectable 7-4 start, I have gone just 7-19 since and have never been this cold anywhere near this long since before the adrenal fatigue diagnosis in 2006. Nothing more to say that is not already apparent. My mileage total of 1,348 on the year is not bad and I expect to finish near 1,800 which was right about what I planned in a non-marathon year. The only problem is the planned high intensity workouts have been missing as well.
Final comments on the magnesium issue:
I posted earlier that without magnesium supplementation, I stand no chance of getting in balance and sadly, this is probably true. Yes, Cal/Mag supplements do in fact lower my sky high Na and K levels associated with overactive thyroid and adrenal function but they are not nearly as effective as the Thym-Adren glandular. For reasons that I cannot explain, taking significant amounts of magnesium causes intolerance to Thym-Adren and vice versa. I may not be able to get into balance without magnesium but I'll never feel good long-term without the Thym-Adren. After several months on a mega Thym-Adren dose, I see no reason why I cannot lower the Na and K back down to near normal once again. The problem is that the Thym-Adren has failed to raise my Cal and Mag levels and eventually the magnesium deficiency symptoms will re-appear. When that happens, I will take the Mag only on an as needed basis.
Magnesium supplementation has not been all bad for me. My tolerance for sugar is much improved and I no longer need to take Fructosin, which saves me at least $45/month. Also, my summer allergies were almost non-existent this year. I believe that magnesium was directly responsible for those 2 positive developments and why I hesitate to stop taking it altogether. I have 3 possible formulas that I am willing to try in the next week or 2:
-9 Thym-Adren pills alone
-8 Thym-Adren with 1 Mag malate pill (45mg)
-6 Thym-Adren with 1 Jigsaw Mag (125 mg)
Any more than 125 mg and I doubt that I can take much Thym-Adren and I know for a fact that 500 mg of Mag causes complete intolerance to it. Without Thym-Adren, I have learned too many times that my Na and K will skyrocket as sure as I'm alive. I will re-iterate that Cal/Mag is not enough to offset that trend. It's like tapping or covering the brakes on a car when driving down a mountain.
When I experiment with pills, I usually get a clear YES or NO answer with a couple of days. Not so with the magnesium. There were several times when on the Mag citrate that it seemed to be coming together. I appeared to be improving steadily on the Mag chloride as well and had some "A" workouts on the malate. There are other forms of Mag out there but I have little confidence of a different outcome. If and when the fructose malabsorption or allergies flare up again, I will go back to magnesium. It seems that I can take it with Thym-Adren for a week or so but not long-term.
As for the 4th quarter, my plans are fairly modest. I will do only 1 out of town half marathon and am leaning towards Huntington, WV (state #18) in mid-November. No more 10Ks this year but maybe a couple local 5Ks. I need to go 11-2 down the stretch just to get back to .500 on the year. It's a tall order but I have gone 15-3 over an 18 weeks in 2011-12.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Training 9/30-10/6
9/30- Planned rest day for the trip back to Birmingham. I have time for a junk run but it would not go well so what's the point? Mercifully, this ends the 3rd quarter.
10/1- 5 mile time trial on all Thym-Adren. I aimed to beat my split of 35:00 from the Great Race and managed to do it in 34:54 (6:59 pace). Nasty fade (17:04-17:50) but I clearly felt different today. The malaise of the past few weeks has diminished and has been replaced by over-stimulation, which is how I should feel given my chemistry. This was a cool 91 seconds better than my last time trial only 7 days earlier on the same course but I don't consider myself "back" until I am sub-33.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=5.0
10/2- Stuck with all Thym-Adren. Trak Shak 7.5 loop in 57:24 (7:39 pace). Pace was variable depending on the terrain but it was a pretty even effort. Mile 7 was slow but I could have maintained the pace with more effort. Solid performance overall and remained fairly comfortable.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=7.5
10/3- VERY POOR. Felt terrible all day at work and no better on the run. 2.5 miles in 19:23 (7:45 pace). Started off decent but was over 8:00 pace after the first mile. I expected the all Thym-Adren strategy would eventually fail me but I never expected it to happen so soon. I took 200 mg of Mag and it didn't hurt me but it was not very effective either. I popped 250 mg. of Cal, which seemed to help. Going back to the previous post, in option #3, it could be extra Cal that may cause my POS body to demand the Mag that it needs.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=2.5
10/4- Update: This one is big. Apparently it is the Jigsaw Mag that I cannot tolerate with the Thym-Adren. The problem is likely the folic acid suppressing adrenaline too much. I took plain Mag malate today and felt better. I still need to tweak the formula but this is an encouraging development.
Another 5 mile time trial and my time is down to 34:26 (6:53 pace). That's another cool 28 ticks better than I was only 3 days ago. Splits were more even as well (17:00/17:26). Only Mile 4 was over 7 minutes. I took 8 Thym-Adren, and a Cal/Mag total of roughly 800:400. I will continue tweaking and hope to continue improving.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=5.0
10/5- Long run. Did not expect much after yesterday's effort. It turned out to be a split decision. I was strugg-a-ling from the get go but began feeling better in the midsection and turned in some 7:40 splits then my groin and hamstring gave out on me in Mile 10. Finished 11 miles in a time of 87:49 (7:59 pace) and had to work for the sub-8 overall. I got a decidedly negative reaction to extra Cal/Mag yesterday evening and it probably hasn't fully cleared. I'm reducing the dosage today.
Grad:B-/2 credits/distance=11.0
10/6- AM Did not take enough Thym-Adren so I bailed after a 7:46 opening mile and a rapidly slowing pace.
PM- 3rd 5 mile time trial of the week and my time is down to 33:49 (6:46 pace). Another cool 35 second improvement despite being slightly less than fresh. Formula was 8 Thym Adren, 1 extra Cal and 225 mg. of Mag. I feel like I can tolerate 300 mg. of Mag but 450 will give me the runs. I am only 10 ticks per mile shy of what I consider to be competitive shape. I think I can do it next week if I can hold it together on this formula. Splits were nearly perfect (16:56-16:53) with Mile 5 being my fastest at 6:33. Every mile was below 7.
Grade:A-/2 credit/distance=6.0
Weekly summary:
I almost won this time but it goes on record as my 5th loss in a row. There MAY be real hope of winning streak around the corner. It does boost my overall GPA on the year. 3 time trials seems like overkill to most but in my condition, I rarely feel overtrained but I just can't access the top gears and as a result, I can recover like it was an easy run.
Distance=37.0/ GPA= 29.1/10= 2.91
YTD: 1,385 miles. 14-24- 2.56
10/1- 5 mile time trial on all Thym-Adren. I aimed to beat my split of 35:00 from the Great Race and managed to do it in 34:54 (6:59 pace). Nasty fade (17:04-17:50) but I clearly felt different today. The malaise of the past few weeks has diminished and has been replaced by over-stimulation, which is how I should feel given my chemistry. This was a cool 91 seconds better than my last time trial only 7 days earlier on the same course but I don't consider myself "back" until I am sub-33.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=5.0
10/2- Stuck with all Thym-Adren. Trak Shak 7.5 loop in 57:24 (7:39 pace). Pace was variable depending on the terrain but it was a pretty even effort. Mile 7 was slow but I could have maintained the pace with more effort. Solid performance overall and remained fairly comfortable.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=7.5
10/3- VERY POOR. Felt terrible all day at work and no better on the run. 2.5 miles in 19:23 (7:45 pace). Started off decent but was over 8:00 pace after the first mile. I expected the all Thym-Adren strategy would eventually fail me but I never expected it to happen so soon. I took 200 mg of Mag and it didn't hurt me but it was not very effective either. I popped 250 mg. of Cal, which seemed to help. Going back to the previous post, in option #3, it could be extra Cal that may cause my POS body to demand the Mag that it needs.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=2.5
10/4- Update: This one is big. Apparently it is the Jigsaw Mag that I cannot tolerate with the Thym-Adren. The problem is likely the folic acid suppressing adrenaline too much. I took plain Mag malate today and felt better. I still need to tweak the formula but this is an encouraging development.
Another 5 mile time trial and my time is down to 34:26 (6:53 pace). That's another cool 28 ticks better than I was only 3 days ago. Splits were more even as well (17:00/17:26). Only Mile 4 was over 7 minutes. I took 8 Thym-Adren, and a Cal/Mag total of roughly 800:400. I will continue tweaking and hope to continue improving.
Grade:B/2 credits/distance=5.0
10/5- Long run. Did not expect much after yesterday's effort. It turned out to be a split decision. I was strugg-a-ling from the get go but began feeling better in the midsection and turned in some 7:40 splits then my groin and hamstring gave out on me in Mile 10. Finished 11 miles in a time of 87:49 (7:59 pace) and had to work for the sub-8 overall. I got a decidedly negative reaction to extra Cal/Mag yesterday evening and it probably hasn't fully cleared. I'm reducing the dosage today.
Grad:B-/2 credits/distance=11.0
10/6- AM Did not take enough Thym-Adren so I bailed after a 7:46 opening mile and a rapidly slowing pace.
PM- 3rd 5 mile time trial of the week and my time is down to 33:49 (6:46 pace). Another cool 35 second improvement despite being slightly less than fresh. Formula was 8 Thym Adren, 1 extra Cal and 225 mg. of Mag. I feel like I can tolerate 300 mg. of Mag but 450 will give me the runs. I am only 10 ticks per mile shy of what I consider to be competitive shape. I think I can do it next week if I can hold it together on this formula. Splits were nearly perfect (16:56-16:53) with Mile 5 being my fastest at 6:33. Every mile was below 7.
Grade:A-/2 credit/distance=6.0
Weekly summary:
I almost won this time but it goes on record as my 5th loss in a row. There MAY be real hope of winning streak around the corner. It does boost my overall GPA on the year. 3 time trials seems like overkill to most but in my condition, I rarely feel overtrained but I just can't access the top gears and as a result, I can recover like it was an easy run.
Distance=37.0/ GPA= 29.1/10= 2.91
YTD: 1,385 miles. 14-24- 2.56
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Great Race 10K RR
EDIT: I'm surprised by all the page views for this one. I consider it a rather forgettable and mediocre race. One additional development is that I did have to go back to a low dose of magnesium. It is pure magnesium malate with no co-factors. Folate combined with magnesium was suppressing adrenaline too much. 3 weeks later, I'm still looking for the key formula.Training:
Pretty much a living nightmare for the past 6 months. Mileage has been in the low-mid 30s with little quality and few runs longer than 10 miles. That just won't do but I was doing as much as I could because my energy was usually shot. I am forced to face the fact that the magnesium strategy has failed and re-learned the lesson the Thym-Adren is the only way. My last run was a 3 miler barely below 8:00 pace with a brutal fade starting in Mile 2. Hopes were not real high. In fact, I was not even sure that I even wanted to run only 2 days before race day. On my first day back on the Thym-Adren, I did not expect a significant difference especially with excess magnesium in my system. As far as time goals, I had no real expectation, I actually thought I might be over 50 minutes if I did not change the formula. I would be fairly happy with simply beating my recent PW in Atlanta on the 4th of July (45:54). Under 45 would be a moral victory even on a fast downhill course.
Trip:
Like the Gatorade Steelers 5K 2 years ago, I chose this Pittsburgh race largely because I have family in the area. Also, it would be state #7 of 10 in terms of 10Ks (SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, FL) and now PA. The trip was fairly smooth. I chose to fly this time because my car is getting old. After a long layover in DC, I got into Pittsburgh without a hitch on Friday evening. Pre-race dinner was a very good but overpriced porterhouse steak at Morton's.
Course:
This is a first class event in every way. It is a point to point downhill course ending at the point in which Pittsburgh's 3 rivers meet while passing through 3 college campuses and lots of city skyline views. That's not to say that it was all downhill and a piece of cake all the way. Miles 2,4,6 each had long and steep declines but there were some tough stretches. The course began with a fairly steep half mile hill before going back down. Mile 3 also had slightly more up than down while the first 3/4 of Mile 5 was a steady climb. Still, because the course contained more than twice as much elevation loss as gain, it cannot count as a PR in my book. Thus, it was purely a fun run. I estimate this race to be 45 seconds faster than a flat 10K such as New Orleans or Mobile and about 1:30 faster than an "average" rolling course.
Race:
I may have qualified for a seeded position but chose to line up near my estimated pace. It was quite crowded early and I did not fight the traffic very much. I was laboring almost immediately on the first uphill through residential areas. A little over a half mile in, we turned into a business section going steadily downhill. My legs had no power at all but the breathing was pretty well controlled. The first mile passed by in 7:12 and in my training runs, I often felt decent early so I still feared that this would turn disastrous soon. Fortunately, we got a welcomed steeper downhill early in Mile 2 and my pace had quickened to the 6:20s on the steeper sections and was pleased to see a 2 mile split time under 14 after passing by Carnegie Mellon Univ. In Mile 3, I battled a bit of an incline still hanging on to a respectable pace through the Oakland section of the city near the Pitt campus. I was nearly an even 21 for 3 miles and officially 21:46 for 5K. Okay, barring an unexpected meltdown, I should be no worse than a low 44. I turned in another solid Mile on the downhill as the city skyline came into view. When the dreaded Mile 5 came along, it was a strange feeling, I really felt no worse than I did in the first half mile but could not access any power and the same held true on the last downhill. Still, I gained several positions going up that hill near the Duquesne campus. I would give away some of those spots in the final Mile but my pace increased nicely on the steep downhill. The course leveled off about a half mile from the finish and we made the turn towards the finish. I was around 41:40 for 6 miles and prepared to accept a low-43 finish, which was a lot better than expected. In the end, the finish line came sooner than expected around a curve and a last drive to the line brought me there in an even 43-flat. I would have broken it if I knew how close I was but oh well.
Splits:
7:12 (7:12)
6:41 (13:53)
7:08 (21:01)
6:42 (27:43)
7:17 (35:00)
6:42 (41:42)
1:18 (43:00)
AG: 68/607- 88th percentile.
Final thought:
6 months ago, I would have been fighting mad over such a poor performance. On Vulcan's course, I doubt that I would have been much below 45 compared with my CR of 41:32 so that shows how far out of whack I really am. It's hard to believe that I was in sub-40 form on level ground just 6 months earlier. However, I have shown in the past that my thyroid/adrenals will come down nicely after a few months on the Thym-Adren. Will the magnesium issue flare up again? Probably. I will take it only on an as needed basis. I am now 3 away for the 10K in 10 states goal. The next 2 are easy trips to suburban Nashville, TN and Bowling Green, KY. For #10, I want to make it special and am leaning towards a mega race in Richmond, VA.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Training 9/23-9/29 race week
EDIT: Lots of page views on this one. The Jigsaw Magnesium, which contains Folate and B-6 as co-factors proved to be too much because it along with magnesium "neutralizes" adrenaline. Pure Magnesium malate was better for me but it appears that I cannot take it with the Thym-Adren.
FINAL EDIT: Looks like I am getting back on track by taking all Thym-Adren and no Mag at least for the time being. After the Mag RBC tested normal, I feel comfortable sticking with all Thym-Adren until further notice.
9/23- Another solid start to the week. Lakeshore 6.5 in 48:20 (7:26 pace). Looks strong on the surface but I was working harder than I should have been. Daily runs in sub-7:30 are fine when I am in sub-90 shape for a half but not so now. Fairly even pace. Again, all but 1 mile was sub-7:30. Grade is lenient today. I certainly do not feel this well. Took a 2:1 ratio of Cal/Mag. I do suspect that too much Mag relative to Cal may have thrown my Na/K off but that should be only temporary. Can I avoid a collapse this week? Is it too much to ask?
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=7.0
9/24- VERY poor effort in a tempo try. Got off to a pretty good start (6:40 1st mile) then died. Mile 4 was 7:30 and Mile 5 was over 8:00. Finished 5 miles in 36:25 (7:17 pace). I'll cut myself some slack and won't call this a tempo if I can bounce back tomorrow. I tried some extra magnesium last night along with just a trace of Thym-Adren and it apparently did not clear my system. It will not work. It's 2:1 Cal/Mag or bust. Nothing else will work. If I quit the Mag, I'll be back on the Thym-Adren and probably the Fructosin. I may be faster in the short term but have no chance of getting in balance.
Grade:C/2 credit/distance=5.0
9/25- WORSE! The Thym-Adren apparently has not cleared. I must be better tomorrow. Naked 3 miler at the Shak. Pace was likely 8:30ish. I'm contemplating retirement again.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=3.0
9/26- Not much better than yesterday's debacle. 3 miles at Gold's in 23:57 (7:59 pace) with splits of 7:17-8:08-8:32. OUCH! I don't understand it. The glandulars should be fully out of my system by now. Maybe something else is the matter but it's too close to race day to experiment and possibly make things worse. The plan is to participate in the race on Sunday only because I've already signed up. It's only a 10K so I can finish safely for sure. If it were a half mary or even a 15K, I'd skip it.
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance=3.0
9/27- 1 mile junk run in around 7:20 and had to quit because of stomach cramps. BAD!
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=1.0
9/28- Planned rest day.
9/29- Great Race 10K in 43:00 (6:55 pace) plus a warm and cool.
Grade:C+/3 credits/distance=7.0
Weekly summary:
End of the 3rd quarter and I'm done with the magnesium. Did better than expected in the race and checked off state #7 of 10 for the 10K.
Distance= 26.0/ GPA= 17.9/8= 2.24
YTD: 1,348 miles. 14-23 with a 2.54 GPA.
FINAL EDIT: Looks like I am getting back on track by taking all Thym-Adren and no Mag at least for the time being. After the Mag RBC tested normal, I feel comfortable sticking with all Thym-Adren until further notice.
9/23- Another solid start to the week. Lakeshore 6.5 in 48:20 (7:26 pace). Looks strong on the surface but I was working harder than I should have been. Daily runs in sub-7:30 are fine when I am in sub-90 shape for a half but not so now. Fairly even pace. Again, all but 1 mile was sub-7:30. Grade is lenient today. I certainly do not feel this well. Took a 2:1 ratio of Cal/Mag. I do suspect that too much Mag relative to Cal may have thrown my Na/K off but that should be only temporary. Can I avoid a collapse this week? Is it too much to ask?
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=7.0
9/24- VERY poor effort in a tempo try. Got off to a pretty good start (6:40 1st mile) then died. Mile 4 was 7:30 and Mile 5 was over 8:00. Finished 5 miles in 36:25 (7:17 pace). I'll cut myself some slack and won't call this a tempo if I can bounce back tomorrow. I tried some extra magnesium last night along with just a trace of Thym-Adren and it apparently did not clear my system. It will not work. It's 2:1 Cal/Mag or bust. Nothing else will work. If I quit the Mag, I'll be back on the Thym-Adren and probably the Fructosin. I may be faster in the short term but have no chance of getting in balance.
Grade:C/2 credit/distance=5.0
9/25- WORSE! The Thym-Adren apparently has not cleared. I must be better tomorrow. Naked 3 miler at the Shak. Pace was likely 8:30ish. I'm contemplating retirement again.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=3.0
9/26- Not much better than yesterday's debacle. 3 miles at Gold's in 23:57 (7:59 pace) with splits of 7:17-8:08-8:32. OUCH! I don't understand it. The glandulars should be fully out of my system by now. Maybe something else is the matter but it's too close to race day to experiment and possibly make things worse. The plan is to participate in the race on Sunday only because I've already signed up. It's only a 10K so I can finish safely for sure. If it were a half mary or even a 15K, I'd skip it.
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance=3.0
9/27- 1 mile junk run in around 7:20 and had to quit because of stomach cramps. BAD!
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=1.0
9/28- Planned rest day.
9/29- Great Race 10K in 43:00 (6:55 pace) plus a warm and cool.
Grade:C+/3 credits/distance=7.0
Weekly summary:
End of the 3rd quarter and I'm done with the magnesium. Did better than expected in the race and checked off state #7 of 10 for the 10K.
Distance= 26.0/ GPA= 17.9/8= 2.24
YTD: 1,348 miles. 14-23 with a 2.54 GPA.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Training 9/16-9/22 (possible race)
9/16- Strong start to the week. Lakeshore 6.5 in 48-flat (7:23 pace). Even pace all the way. All but 1 mile was sub-7:30. Warm and dry day out there with temps in the mid-80s and a dewpoint near 60 if not slightly below. Felt comfortable. Can't say that I could have run all day at this pace but another 6.5? I bet I could manage it. No Thym-Adren but my Cal/Mag ratio is very sensitive. I need 750 mg of each. 500 won't cut it and 1,000 is probably too much.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=7.0
9/17- Salazar 300s at Vestavia. It was an improvement over the last such workout, which is very encouraging when doing intervals. Last time, I managed 10 reps in 58-59. Today was 12 reps in sets of 6. I clocked 2 56s, 7 57s, 2 58s before closing with a solid 54.5. Still, my body is not quite in sync and my gut feeling is to skip Talladega (I'll save $40+ gas) and focus on the 10K the following week. Even if it's a good day for me, my fitness has diminished to the point that I can't expect better than a mid-high 20:xx. I'll decide by Thursday and could change my mind if I have a breakout.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=3.5
9/18-Adjusted the Cal/Mag ratio to 1,000 Cal/750 Mag and it was clearly an improvement.Taking all Mag in the morning, I was awful but got better with every dose of Cal. Trak Shak 7.5 in 54:02 (7:12 pace) while running a pretty comfortable effort. I may try to tweak it a little more tomorrow. I am listed as "doubtful" for Talladega but if I feel great tomorrow or Friday, I will change my mind. My half mary time right now would be 1:35ish and will come down nicely with consistent training.
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=7.5
9/19-Once again, I need X# of pills or else. I've simply traded the Thym-Adren for the Cal/Mag. I took all Cal this morning and was awful but gradually improved with each dose of Mag. I suspect a selenium deficiency so I tried 2 of those pills this evening. 1 may have been helpful but 2 of them caused over-stimulation. Attempted a tempo and got a great start but was fading fast by the end of Mile 1 (6:27) so I shut down the engines and just cruised the final 4 miles in a rather pedestrian 31-flat. Overall time was 37:27 (7:29 pace) for 5 miles plus a half mile cool.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.5
9/20- Officially a "no" for Talladega. If I am low on selenium, the supplement that I took is not the answer. I pitched it today. Workout was a lame 4 miler on Lakeshore in 31:50 (7:57 pace) and had to rally at the end to secure the sub-8 overall. While that's not horrible for an easy day, I was clearly off form.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=4.5
9/21- Planned rest day due to predicted bad weather.
9/22- Another long run FAIL! Plan was 15 miles @ 7:45 ish pace. I tried 750 Cal/500 Mag and struggled through 5 miles on Lakeshore in a pedestrian 39:35 (7:55 pace). Splits were 18:58-20:37 with an 8:25 in Mile 5. Tried some more Mag and was so bad that I did not even attempt to run any longer. It appears that once again, I need a 2:1 ratio of Cal/Mag, which would have been disastrous only a week ago. I've traded one instability for another and I am MAD AS HELL! Good call on skipping Talladega. I expect to suck in my 10K next week.
PM- 1 mile junk run. Felt no better.
Grade:F/2 credits/distance=6.0
Weekly summary:
Numb.
Distance=34.0/ GPA= 19.3/8=2.41
YTD: 1,322 miles. 14-22 with a 2.55 GPA.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=7.0
9/17- Salazar 300s at Vestavia. It was an improvement over the last such workout, which is very encouraging when doing intervals. Last time, I managed 10 reps in 58-59. Today was 12 reps in sets of 6. I clocked 2 56s, 7 57s, 2 58s before closing with a solid 54.5. Still, my body is not quite in sync and my gut feeling is to skip Talladega (I'll save $40+ gas) and focus on the 10K the following week. Even if it's a good day for me, my fitness has diminished to the point that I can't expect better than a mid-high 20:xx. I'll decide by Thursday and could change my mind if I have a breakout.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=3.5
9/18-Adjusted the Cal/Mag ratio to 1,000 Cal/750 Mag and it was clearly an improvement.Taking all Mag in the morning, I was awful but got better with every dose of Cal. Trak Shak 7.5 in 54:02 (7:12 pace) while running a pretty comfortable effort. I may try to tweak it a little more tomorrow. I am listed as "doubtful" for Talladega but if I feel great tomorrow or Friday, I will change my mind. My half mary time right now would be 1:35ish and will come down nicely with consistent training.
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=7.5
9/19-Once again, I need X# of pills or else. I've simply traded the Thym-Adren for the Cal/Mag. I took all Cal this morning and was awful but gradually improved with each dose of Mag. I suspect a selenium deficiency so I tried 2 of those pills this evening. 1 may have been helpful but 2 of them caused over-stimulation. Attempted a tempo and got a great start but was fading fast by the end of Mile 1 (6:27) so I shut down the engines and just cruised the final 4 miles in a rather pedestrian 31-flat. Overall time was 37:27 (7:29 pace) for 5 miles plus a half mile cool.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.5
9/20- Officially a "no" for Talladega. If I am low on selenium, the supplement that I took is not the answer. I pitched it today. Workout was a lame 4 miler on Lakeshore in 31:50 (7:57 pace) and had to rally at the end to secure the sub-8 overall. While that's not horrible for an easy day, I was clearly off form.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=4.5
9/21- Planned rest day due to predicted bad weather.
9/22- Another long run FAIL! Plan was 15 miles @ 7:45 ish pace. I tried 750 Cal/500 Mag and struggled through 5 miles on Lakeshore in a pedestrian 39:35 (7:55 pace). Splits were 18:58-20:37 with an 8:25 in Mile 5. Tried some more Mag and was so bad that I did not even attempt to run any longer. It appears that once again, I need a 2:1 ratio of Cal/Mag, which would have been disastrous only a week ago. I've traded one instability for another and I am MAD AS HELL! Good call on skipping Talladega. I expect to suck in my 10K next week.
PM- 1 mile junk run. Felt no better.
Grade:F/2 credits/distance=6.0
Weekly summary:
Numb.
Distance=34.0/ GPA= 19.3/8=2.41
YTD: 1,322 miles. 14-22 with a 2.55 GPA.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Job or Passion?
10 years ago, I was a first year MBA student with aspirations of becoming an Analyst for a major corporation or bank. Let's just say that it didn't work out and leave it at that. After that, I made a half-assed effort to prepare for the CPA exam and fall back on my Accounting degree but eventually gave up due to stress and lack of interest. Finally, after 16 rejections, I got hired with the State of Alabama and eventually got a transfer from Montgomery up to Birmingham to work as an auditor. How do I like my current job?
It's got its ups and downs but I'll try not to complain too much because it is a big improvement over my old one, in which my duties were mostly data entry.
Pros:
-no overtime required, not terribly stressful. High stress with long hours would be a killer in my condition. I would have hated a job at a big CPA firm.
- no trouble getting a day or two off every now and then
- I feel good about busting somebody who is blatantly cheating on taxes and in doing so, I help keep taxes lower for honest folks.
Cons:
-I don't like having to give a large bill to nice people who sincerely didn't know about a certain tax law. I'd like to cut them a break if possible but I've got to apply the law.
-Can be tedious at times flipping invoices and I don't feel like I'm using my degrees very much.
-Some people like to drag the audit out as long as possible then at the last minute, they give me information proving that they owe little or no tax. As a result, I have to work and re-work audits 3 or more times for minimal money. They say that you are not evaluated on production but you are.
-Yes, my medical issues are holding me back from performing better.
Overall, it's not a bad gig and I could be fairly content doing it for the next 25 years and it's a good thing because it's really my only option that's somewhat related to my field. A private sector job would pay better but it's not worth the stress and I honestly don't think I could handle it right now. Now, the question of this post: Would I ever quit my job to pursue my passion in natural medicine? My answer is pretty sensible. If it promised me that ability to earn a living, the answer is HELL YES.
Under no circumstances will I go back to school and subject myself to the stress of another degree with no guarantee of landing a job in the field. My only hope is that the book deal could be a springboard. I have no expectations of a #1 best seller but judging by the interest in this blog and my connections with the Christian and running community, several thousand sales is not unrealistic. At least locally, my story would be fairly well-known. I really like Birmingham and would not want to leave. Fortunately, I am aware of a practice in town called Hoover Alt MD but to my knowledge, they do not sell hair or neurotransmitter tests. Any chance they might hire me as a consultant? If this war finally ends in my favor and as I predict, I am able to do things that I could never even dream of now, yes it could happen.
My dream is to develop some type of mathematical formula that takes in all information on those tests and identifies "bottom lines" that cause intolerance to certain pills to create a fool-proof formula that eliminates or at least minimizes the instability that I have.
Money is not my primary concern. As long as I have the following, I'd be fine with it:
-a roof over my head in a safe neighborhood.
-reliable car that can get me around.
-enough disposable income to take a couple mini-vacations per year and maybe be able to go overseas every few years or so.
That's pretty much where I am now.
As far as a big house, fancy cars and flashy clothes, I don't need any of that.
Honestly, I'd rather make $40K by following my passion than $60K by not doing so.
It's got its ups and downs but I'll try not to complain too much because it is a big improvement over my old one, in which my duties were mostly data entry.
Pros:
-no overtime required, not terribly stressful. High stress with long hours would be a killer in my condition. I would have hated a job at a big CPA firm.
- no trouble getting a day or two off every now and then
- I feel good about busting somebody who is blatantly cheating on taxes and in doing so, I help keep taxes lower for honest folks.
Cons:
-I don't like having to give a large bill to nice people who sincerely didn't know about a certain tax law. I'd like to cut them a break if possible but I've got to apply the law.
-Can be tedious at times flipping invoices and I don't feel like I'm using my degrees very much.
-Some people like to drag the audit out as long as possible then at the last minute, they give me information proving that they owe little or no tax. As a result, I have to work and re-work audits 3 or more times for minimal money. They say that you are not evaluated on production but you are.
-Yes, my medical issues are holding me back from performing better.
Overall, it's not a bad gig and I could be fairly content doing it for the next 25 years and it's a good thing because it's really my only option that's somewhat related to my field. A private sector job would pay better but it's not worth the stress and I honestly don't think I could handle it right now. Now, the question of this post: Would I ever quit my job to pursue my passion in natural medicine? My answer is pretty sensible. If it promised me that ability to earn a living, the answer is HELL YES.
Under no circumstances will I go back to school and subject myself to the stress of another degree with no guarantee of landing a job in the field. My only hope is that the book deal could be a springboard. I have no expectations of a #1 best seller but judging by the interest in this blog and my connections with the Christian and running community, several thousand sales is not unrealistic. At least locally, my story would be fairly well-known. I really like Birmingham and would not want to leave. Fortunately, I am aware of a practice in town called Hoover Alt MD but to my knowledge, they do not sell hair or neurotransmitter tests. Any chance they might hire me as a consultant? If this war finally ends in my favor and as I predict, I am able to do things that I could never even dream of now, yes it could happen.
My dream is to develop some type of mathematical formula that takes in all information on those tests and identifies "bottom lines" that cause intolerance to certain pills to create a fool-proof formula that eliminates or at least minimizes the instability that I have.
Money is not my primary concern. As long as I have the following, I'd be fine with it:
-a roof over my head in a safe neighborhood.
-reliable car that can get me around.
-enough disposable income to take a couple mini-vacations per year and maybe be able to go overseas every few years or so.
That's pretty much where I am now.
As far as a big house, fancy cars and flashy clothes, I don't need any of that.
Honestly, I'd rather make $40K by following my passion than $60K by not doing so.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Training 9/9-9/15
9/9- Forced rest day. Too weak to even attempt a run. Tomorrow is the last day on the antibiotics. I did hit 1,250 miles for the year yesterday and am on pace to finish near 1,800.
9/10- AM- Took the last dose of antibiotics when I woke up and was awful as expected in my run. Wisteria 1.5 mile in a hard fought 14:47 (9:51 pace). It would have been a 2 miler but I had to walk to the finish due to a diarrhea threat. I've learned that this class of antibiotics (Amoxicillan) depletes magnesium so that likely explains it. It can't get any worse than this (I hope). I'm running again this afternoon and will aim for sub-26 for 3 miles.
PM- A bit better than expected. 3 miles at Gold's in 24:51 (8:17 pace) minus a bathroom stop. I had been off the antibiotics for only 7 hours but felt the best I have since Friday. That's probably because I took a mega dose of magnesium. I'm not celebrating anything. 3 @8:17 is barely under 26 for a full 5K and that's still BAAAAUHD! I hope to be sub-8 pace tomorrow on a standard issue workout.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=5.0
9/11- AM- 3 miles in 23:14 (7:45 pace). Very even splits and an improvement of 1:37 over yesterday but I was working hard almost all the way. This was a near race level effort and would have been hard pressed to break 24 for a full 5K in competition.
PM- 5 miles in 37:27 (7:29 pace). Negative split (18:52-18:35) and a nice pick up in Mile 5 to secure the sub-7:30 overall pace. I am getting stronger with every session. That's nothing new in these 6 months of hell. What has been happening is that I get to the point in which I am turning the corner, then I crash again and repeated the process countless times. Is it too much to ask for at least a few weeks without a crash? I have officially clinched a 1.75 GPA on the year.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=8.0
9/12- Mediocre speed session at Mountain Brook. 2 x400, 2x300, 2x200, 2x100 followed by a full recovery then a 400 all out. Stats were 83-82-57-57-35-35. 100s were naked then the 400 was a rather lame 75.7. At a minimum, I like to close a workout with a sub-70. Overall, I felt slightly better than yesterday but grading is stricter on a quality day. 3 lap warm and cool.
Grade:C+/2 credits/distance=3.0
9/13- Trak Shak 4.5 mile in 33:15 (7:23 pace) plus a cool. I think I am recovered from the antibiotics and can cut the Mag back to normal (500 mg). I had diarrhea again and had to take a walk break until I found a Port-a-John so hopefully that issue will go away soon. Overall, not bad on the run today.
Update: This one is big. I have learned that magnesium is required for serotonin production thanks to Livestrong. Based on how I feel, I strongly suspect a low serotonin level. I will NEVER take an SSRI anti-depressant again but 5-HTP might be worth a try. I haven't taken anything for neurotransmitters since 2010 so I feel like I'm going backwards. I can't predict the results but if I do take it, I hope it will be only temporary. Still, no need for Thym-Adren.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.0
9/14- Turned 33 years old today. Pretty decent run on a beautiful day. Clear skies and temps in the 60s this morning. 12 mile run with the Gnomes in 91:57 (7:40 pace). Groin was giving out near the end but outside of that, I felt good. I could not find anyone who matched my pace. It was either over-8 or sub-7:20. I believe this is my longest run since early April. I'm going to try the 5-HTP now and hope to get a clear "yes" or "no" answer quickly.
-The 5-HTP is a clear NO. That's okay. I'll just stick with the Cal/Mag. Good day nonetheless. I may struggle a bit tomorrow.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=12.0
9/15- Very sleepy from the 5-HTP. Slept in until 10:30 then had to take an afternoon nap. Waited until 4 PM to run and it was a good call. 5 miles in 37:50 (7:34 pace). Not a bad run overall. Faded to 7:42s in the last 2 miles. It's Cal/Mag or bust and I've reached the end of the line.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.0
Weekly summary:
With this loss, I have guaranteed a sub-3.0 for the year and need to go 11-4 just to finish at .500. I did have a half decent end to week and hope to build on it going forward.
Distance=38.0/GPA= 20.5/8= 2.56
YTD: 1,288 miles. 14-21 with a 2.55 GPA.
9/10- AM- Took the last dose of antibiotics when I woke up and was awful as expected in my run. Wisteria 1.5 mile in a hard fought 14:47 (9:51 pace). It would have been a 2 miler but I had to walk to the finish due to a diarrhea threat. I've learned that this class of antibiotics (Amoxicillan) depletes magnesium so that likely explains it. It can't get any worse than this (I hope). I'm running again this afternoon and will aim for sub-26 for 3 miles.
PM- A bit better than expected. 3 miles at Gold's in 24:51 (8:17 pace) minus a bathroom stop. I had been off the antibiotics for only 7 hours but felt the best I have since Friday. That's probably because I took a mega dose of magnesium. I'm not celebrating anything. 3 @8:17 is barely under 26 for a full 5K and that's still BAAAAUHD! I hope to be sub-8 pace tomorrow on a standard issue workout.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=5.0
9/11- AM- 3 miles in 23:14 (7:45 pace). Very even splits and an improvement of 1:37 over yesterday but I was working hard almost all the way. This was a near race level effort and would have been hard pressed to break 24 for a full 5K in competition.
PM- 5 miles in 37:27 (7:29 pace). Negative split (18:52-18:35) and a nice pick up in Mile 5 to secure the sub-7:30 overall pace. I am getting stronger with every session. That's nothing new in these 6 months of hell. What has been happening is that I get to the point in which I am turning the corner, then I crash again and repeated the process countless times. Is it too much to ask for at least a few weeks without a crash? I have officially clinched a 1.75 GPA on the year.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=8.0
9/12- Mediocre speed session at Mountain Brook. 2 x400, 2x300, 2x200, 2x100 followed by a full recovery then a 400 all out. Stats were 83-82-57-57-35-35. 100s were naked then the 400 was a rather lame 75.7. At a minimum, I like to close a workout with a sub-70. Overall, I felt slightly better than yesterday but grading is stricter on a quality day. 3 lap warm and cool.
Grade:C+/2 credits/distance=3.0
9/13- Trak Shak 4.5 mile in 33:15 (7:23 pace) plus a cool. I think I am recovered from the antibiotics and can cut the Mag back to normal (500 mg). I had diarrhea again and had to take a walk break until I found a Port-a-John so hopefully that issue will go away soon. Overall, not bad on the run today.
Update: This one is big. I have learned that magnesium is required for serotonin production thanks to Livestrong. Based on how I feel, I strongly suspect a low serotonin level. I will NEVER take an SSRI anti-depressant again but 5-HTP might be worth a try. I haven't taken anything for neurotransmitters since 2010 so I feel like I'm going backwards. I can't predict the results but if I do take it, I hope it will be only temporary. Still, no need for Thym-Adren.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.0
9/14- Turned 33 years old today. Pretty decent run on a beautiful day. Clear skies and temps in the 60s this morning. 12 mile run with the Gnomes in 91:57 (7:40 pace). Groin was giving out near the end but outside of that, I felt good. I could not find anyone who matched my pace. It was either over-8 or sub-7:20. I believe this is my longest run since early April. I'm going to try the 5-HTP now and hope to get a clear "yes" or "no" answer quickly.
-The 5-HTP is a clear NO. That's okay. I'll just stick with the Cal/Mag. Good day nonetheless. I may struggle a bit tomorrow.
Grade:B+/2 credits/distance=12.0
9/15- Very sleepy from the 5-HTP. Slept in until 10:30 then had to take an afternoon nap. Waited until 4 PM to run and it was a good call. 5 miles in 37:50 (7:34 pace). Not a bad run overall. Faded to 7:42s in the last 2 miles. It's Cal/Mag or bust and I've reached the end of the line.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=5.0
Weekly summary:
With this loss, I have guaranteed a sub-3.0 for the year and need to go 11-4 just to finish at .500. I did have a half decent end to week and hope to build on it going forward.
Distance=38.0/GPA= 20.5/8= 2.56
YTD: 1,288 miles. 14-21 with a 2.55 GPA.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Training 9/2-9/8
9/2- AM. Measly 2 miles in 17:24 (8:42 pace). I'd like to think that I'm not recovered from Saturday but it was obvious that it was too much Thym-Adren because I got worse after an extra pill. Is this a temporary reaction or a permanent adjustment? I'm betting that it is the latter because I was clean yesterday and did okay. It seems unlikely that I need Fructosin because I was slightly better after drinking some Gatorade. 1st mile was 8:53, 2nd was 8:31 after the Gatorade. Nevertheless, I will rule out the Fructosin later and probably endure a rotten day off. I may attempt another run this evening.
PM- Slightly worse after taking Fructosin. We shall see what happens with the Thym-Adren. I jogged a mile naked at a pace over 10.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=3.0
9/3- MAD AS HELL! Once again, I am shooting at a moving target. Only one week ago, I needed mega doses of Thym-Adren. Now, I am rapidly trending down and will likely be off it by the end of the week. Today, I did an aggressive cut from 8 pills down to 4. 4 pills were still too many! I have been alcohol and caffeine free for 3 days and now I'll bet that the drinking on Saturday didn't hurt me after all. I was going downhill over the weekend but didn't recognize the reason.
Today's workout was 3 miles at Golds and got a small incremental improvement. Finished in 23:30 (7:50 pace) with splits of 7:30-7:50-8:10. Popped a 5th pill just to see what would happen and turned in a hard fought 8:47 in Mile 4.
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance=4.0
9/4- Well, it's official now. For the 3rd time this year, I have been forced off Thym-Adren, which has spelled disaster in the past. I can only hope that Cal/Mag malate will do the job that citrate failed to do. It was another aggressive cut to 2 pills today and it was 2 too many. I can envision going back and forth from Thym-Adren to Cal/Mag in a never ending cycle. That would suck real bad!
I got a very modest improvement over yesterday. 3 miles at Gold's in 23:06 (7:42 pace) plus a Mile cool. In other news, a toothache began on Monday and got progressively worse. I went to the denty and sure enough, I needed a root canal and had to pay $300. Did the oral infection effect my balance? Since it was a short-term issue, the answer is "Possible but unlikely." Still, there is a decent chance that I could be right back on mega Thym-Adren again by next week.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=4.0
9/5- Body was weak from the antibiotics and loopy from the pain pills but performed well when called upon. Today was my first day off the Thym-Adren and I could not have asked for better. 5 miles at Gold's in 36:25 (7:17 pace). Ran like a machine. The average pace was 7:17 and my SLOWEST mile was #3 at 7:19. Very smooth and relaxed. The only downer was a bit of muscle soreness in the groin but it should not be anything to worry about. 5 more days on the antibiotics, which could be rough. I did pick up some probiotics at GNC today and ate some yogurt for breakfast.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=5.5
9/6- Salazar 300s at Hoover @ 5:15ish pace. 10 reps in sets of 2 with only a 1 min R. 1st 9 were all between 58.7-59.4 then turned it up a notch with a 54.7 finish. Decent workout. I'm doing okay without the Thym-Adren but the antibiotic use is leaving me weak. I have only 4 days left on those suckers and will be over halfway done tomorrow. Probiotics help but do not offset the damage. After the infection clears and I'm off the antibiotics, I could find myself back on the Thym-Adren next week. If I am able to run both days this weekend, I will not count Monday's debacle against my GPA for the week.
Grade:B/2 credit/distance=2.5
9/7- AM- 1 mile at snail's pace. I am really hurting from the antibiotics now. 3 days to go after today too. I must load on probiotics to get through it.
PM- 1 mile on Wisteria in 9:44 with splits of 4:42-5:02. No comments needed. I've never had this bad of a reaction to antibiotics before so I am concerned.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=2.0
9/8-PATHETIC! 3 miles in 26:27 (8:49 pace). Woke up with intolerable fatigue and popped 3 SBF pills. Just a temporary measure to cope with the antibiotics. I was noticeably better than yesterday.
Grade:D-/1 credit/distance=3.0
Weekly summary:
No comments.
Distance=24.0/ GPA= 12.7/8= 1.59
YTD: 1,250 miles. 14-20 with a 2.54 GPA
PM- Slightly worse after taking Fructosin. We shall see what happens with the Thym-Adren. I jogged a mile naked at a pace over 10.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=3.0
9/3- MAD AS HELL! Once again, I am shooting at a moving target. Only one week ago, I needed mega doses of Thym-Adren. Now, I am rapidly trending down and will likely be off it by the end of the week. Today, I did an aggressive cut from 8 pills down to 4. 4 pills were still too many! I have been alcohol and caffeine free for 3 days and now I'll bet that the drinking on Saturday didn't hurt me after all. I was going downhill over the weekend but didn't recognize the reason.
Today's workout was 3 miles at Golds and got a small incremental improvement. Finished in 23:30 (7:50 pace) with splits of 7:30-7:50-8:10. Popped a 5th pill just to see what would happen and turned in a hard fought 8:47 in Mile 4.
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance=4.0
9/4- Well, it's official now. For the 3rd time this year, I have been forced off Thym-Adren, which has spelled disaster in the past. I can only hope that Cal/Mag malate will do the job that citrate failed to do. It was another aggressive cut to 2 pills today and it was 2 too many. I can envision going back and forth from Thym-Adren to Cal/Mag in a never ending cycle. That would suck real bad!
I got a very modest improvement over yesterday. 3 miles at Gold's in 23:06 (7:42 pace) plus a Mile cool. In other news, a toothache began on Monday and got progressively worse. I went to the denty and sure enough, I needed a root canal and had to pay $300. Did the oral infection effect my balance? Since it was a short-term issue, the answer is "Possible but unlikely." Still, there is a decent chance that I could be right back on mega Thym-Adren again by next week.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=4.0
9/5- Body was weak from the antibiotics and loopy from the pain pills but performed well when called upon. Today was my first day off the Thym-Adren and I could not have asked for better. 5 miles at Gold's in 36:25 (7:17 pace). Ran like a machine. The average pace was 7:17 and my SLOWEST mile was #3 at 7:19. Very smooth and relaxed. The only downer was a bit of muscle soreness in the groin but it should not be anything to worry about. 5 more days on the antibiotics, which could be rough. I did pick up some probiotics at GNC today and ate some yogurt for breakfast.
Grade:A-/1 credit/distance=5.5
9/6- Salazar 300s at Hoover @ 5:15ish pace. 10 reps in sets of 2 with only a 1 min R. 1st 9 were all between 58.7-59.4 then turned it up a notch with a 54.7 finish. Decent workout. I'm doing okay without the Thym-Adren but the antibiotic use is leaving me weak. I have only 4 days left on those suckers and will be over halfway done tomorrow. Probiotics help but do not offset the damage. After the infection clears and I'm off the antibiotics, I could find myself back on the Thym-Adren next week. If I am able to run both days this weekend, I will not count Monday's debacle against my GPA for the week.
Grade:B/2 credit/distance=2.5
9/7- AM- 1 mile at snail's pace. I am really hurting from the antibiotics now. 3 days to go after today too. I must load on probiotics to get through it.
PM- 1 mile on Wisteria in 9:44 with splits of 4:42-5:02. No comments needed. I've never had this bad of a reaction to antibiotics before so I am concerned.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=2.0
9/8-PATHETIC! 3 miles in 26:27 (8:49 pace). Woke up with intolerable fatigue and popped 3 SBF pills. Just a temporary measure to cope with the antibiotics. I was noticeably better than yesterday.
Grade:D-/1 credit/distance=3.0
Weekly summary:
No comments.
Distance=24.0/ GPA= 12.7/8= 1.59
YTD: 1,250 miles. 14-20 with a 2.54 GPA
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