Training 6/16-6/22

6/16- AM- Wisteria Mile on zero pills and my time was down to 7:24.  That's 21 ticks better than yesterday in spite of the hilly route.  How do I know when to switch back to the Thym-Adren?  Easy.  I'll do that when my time without the pills is better than my time with the Endodren.  I'll probably be indoors this afternoon.

PM- Standard issue run.  Gold's 5 in 37:55 (7:35 pace).  Not a bad time for an easy run but something was clearly not right.  I'm thinking it could be zinc or Cal/Mag.  No need to panic but this was a downer.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=6.0

6/17- Tried some Cal/Mag last night and began feeling better.  I need to make 2 notes to my critics following this episode: #1, If I was not "obsessed" with running and did not train yesterday, I never would have noticed anything wrong until much later.  As I've posted before, running increases your awareness of symptoms.  You might think you are feeling okay but in reality, you are not and work will be affected.  Number 2, If I had dawdled through the workout at 8:15ish pace as most runners of my caliber do, I likely would not have noticed anything amiss because I wasn't pushing at all.  On a good day, 7:20-7:30 pace feels quite comfortable over 5-7 miles. If it doesn't, something is wrong.  Even yesterday, an 8+ pace would have felt fine and I would have endured more severe symptoms down the road.

As for today, I will likely rest or do a junk run.  After the initial improvement from a small amount of Cal/Mag, I jumped right back to full strength.  STUPID!  I need to gradually re-introduce it to my system.  We had our first 90 degree day yesterday and today will be hotter.  Just get through these next 8 weeks and then it will be the nicest weather of the year.

PM- As expected, the morning was rough but I improved as the day progressed.  Junk run at Veteran's Park.  2 miles in 15:04 (7:32 pace).  I believe my performance was about on par with yesterday.  Yes, I was feeling it at the end but this was on a slow gravel trail in 90 degree heat.  Put me in the air conditioned gym with the smooth surface and I bet I could have held this pace for another 3 miles. Tonight, I will reduce the Cal/Mag by half.
Grade:B-/1 credit/distance=2.5

6/18- Another episode.  Cutting the dose of Cal/Mag did not do the trick.  It appears that I can and should take some Mag but cannot take any Cal.
AM- Attempted a Mile and punted after a 93 second opening lap and this was ON the Endodren.
PM- Popped some zinc at lunchtime after really struggling at work.  Felt better almost immediately.  Cruised the Trak Shak 5 loop in a strong 35:22 (7:04 pace).
What to make of this episode?  I may be a mixed oxidizer with normal-slightly high Na/Mg and a very low K level.  Zinc raises K and lowers Na so it would make sense that it worked.  I'm hoping to try another Mile tomorrow morning hopefully under 5:40.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=6.0

6/19- MAD AS HELL!  For the 3rd straight day, I was horrible in the morning and did not attempt a time trial.  Apparently, now that I am taking zinc, I need to take more Cal/Mag so I went with the same formula that worked yesterday.  It did NOT work today.  Did 3 miles in 22:15 (7:25 pace), which looks respectable but my splits were 6:46-7:35-7:54.  I tried to run it as a tempo but could not do it and got slower with every step.  Confirmed that too much zinc was the culprit.  I'll bring it down from 2 pills to 1.  CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY SUCKS!
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=3.5

6/20- Forced rest day.  Cut the zinc from 2 pills to 1 and as a result, I needed to reduce the Cal/Mag but I didn't.  The medical report may show big changes to my chemistry but IT'S MORE OF THE SAME symptom wise.  MAD AS HELL!  Looking into a zinc/copper blood test.

TERRIBLE DAY at work.  I was so bad that I had to go home at lunch and take a nap.  One option that I haven't tried yet is Endodren + Mag only.  I will not touch the Cal or zinc.  That's pretty much it.  I will still plan on doing the zinc, copper and ceruloplasmin test.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=0

6/21- Hilly, hot and humid.  I wasn't even sure I could hang with the slow group today but I managed to survive.  11 miles in 92:24 (8:24 pace).  Faded at the end but it was a hilly last 3 miles.
Grade:C+/2 credit/distance=11.0

6/22- Very poor.  4 miles in 30:38 at Gold's (7:39 pace).  Doing okay through 3 miles (22:26) then crashed to an 8:12 last mile.  If I had kept going, it would have been over 9 in Mile 5.  SUCKS!
Grade:C-/1 credit/distance=4.0

Weekly summary:
One of the most frustrating weeks on record.  Only Wednesday was above average.  Once again, I am thinking about quitting.  If I can only tolerate limited amounts of Mag, I MUST stay off sugar and caffeine. There is a slim chance that I will flip back to Thym-Adren.   If I have to, I will increase the Endodren but will not consider that until the medical report comes in, which should be by the end of next week.  I have also ordered the zinc, copper and ceruloplasmin test and should get those result back by next Thursday or so.
Distance= 33.0/ GPA= 17.2/8=2.15
YTD: 807 miles.  Record: 10-14 with a 2.61 GPA