Training 9/8-9/14

9/8- It has been confirmed that taurine was the reason I was sluggish last weekend.  Extra pills confirmed it.  Not surprisingly, it has yet to fully clear and I SUCKED today.  3 miles in 25:21 (8:27 pace) with a last mile in 9:05 before quitting.  I may be able to tolerate taurine on an as needed basis.  I'll get a final answer one way or the other very soon.  Oddly, I'm fairly peaceful on the emotional front.  Nothing more that I can do.  Good news is that the tender ankle is now pain free so I have dodged a bullet there.
Grade:D-/1 credit/distance=3.0

9/9- AM-Despite the drama, I was much improved after taking some Whole Food Vitamin C.  3 miles in 20:54 (6:58 pace).  It was not easy however.  I was working pretty hard at the end.

PM- I took some more C at work and added some low dose zinc and WAY overshot the balance point.  By the time I got home, I could not run at all.  Then, I popped 1 taurine pill as THE test to guard against chemical sensitivity.  I felt better within minutes. YES!  Workout was the Canterbury 5 mile loop in 35:52 (7:10 pace). Strong start but faded to the 7:20s toward the end.  Solid overall.

 I really overloaded on C and yes, I could still feel some ill-effect but that's okay.  A little bit of sensitivity is actually a good thing because it lets you know when you are off-track.  A slow oxidizer who takes a day's dose of adrenal suppressants SHOULD be a bit weakened but a SINGLE dose of the wrong pill should NEVER make a difference between a great day and a terrible one.  How about taking what is supposedly good for you but your system still rejects it?  That my friends, is a NIGHTMARE!
Grade:B+/2 credit/distance=8.0

Update:  If this taurine does work out and I can handle a low dose every day, I MAY NOT EVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY SYSTEM REJECTING A TREATMENT PLAN THAT IS RIGHT FOR MY CHEMISTRY!  If for whatever reason, the Cal/Mag + adrenal supps is not enough, I can add something else without fear of it failing me.  Same with the low ceruloplasmin.
I have 2 options to prevent what happened last night from happening again:
-zinc and Vitamin C or some combination of the 2.
Given my already borderline low serum copper, I'd lean towards more zinc.
-I am due for another ceruloplasmin test in 3 weeks and will adjust if need be from there.

9/10- Zinc is not the answer.  I was AWFUL this morning after only 15 mg of extra zinc.  Once again, taurine negated most of the ill-effects.  I did find that 500 wasn't quite enough and 1000 was a bit too much.  Not good.  Still, I managed a decent workout today.  Trak Shak 5.5 mile loop in 40:35 (7:23 pace).  Mild fade at the end but pace never slowed beyond 7:33.  Felt a tad sluggish but still pretty solid overall.  Tomorrow, I'm cutting the ADHS from 6 pills back down to 4.  I'll take Vitamin C if need be and no more than 500 taurine.  There is a chance that C may not be needed if I take the taurine.  I've also learned thanks to the MAG group that Vitamin A increases ceruloplasmin.  That's worth a try for at least the next 3 weeks.
Grade:B+/1 credit/distance=6.0

9/11- AM-Tried and failed a morning speed session.  Quit after I could not break 40 in a 200.  I will try to re-group this afternoon.  4 ADHS won't cut it and taurine does not protect against missed doses.

PM- Lame 3 miler in 22:51 (7:37 pace).  Gave up on a tempo after a half mile then just settled into a jog.  Did pick it up enough in Mile 3 to secure a sub-23.  Extra taurine afterwards made little difference so it's possible that it never was a problem.  Caffeine is the culprit.  I felt significantly worse after drinking half a KickStart (low sugar caffeinated drink).  I could not quit before because it didn't help the sensitivity.  Now, I know I can quit because I have to!  It is possible that it was the caffeine and not just the copper that was depleting my Vitamin C.  If I can stay off it, I may not even need the Whole Food C after all.
Grade:C-/1 credit/distance=4.0

9/12- Travel day and a planned rest.

9/13- Solid 5 miler on Jefferson/Peters trail.  Finished in 34:48 (6:58 pace) with relatively even split (17:20-17:28).  I was putting forth tempo effort at the end to maintain the sub-7 pace, which is not real good.  Still, decent overall.  Took 250 of Vitamin C last night and felt a little stiff in the calves.  Took some more after the workout and felt slightly worse.  There you have it.  If I abstain from caffeine, I not only do not need C, it will make things worse.  If I do use caffeine, I NEED it.  Just another day in the life of me.
Grade:B+/1 credits/distance=5.0

9/14- Short run was all I had time for but it turned out to be a pretty strong tempo for my 34th birthday.  Finished 3 miles in a time of 18:54 (6:18 pace) with splits of 6:16-6:19-6:19.  That's the equivalent of a 5K in 19:33 and I'm fine with that.  Considering my recent 19:09 PR, my average for 5K should be in the 19:30s and I should be sub-20 every stinking time (<5 p="" percent="" variance="">Grade:A-/2 credit/distance=3.0

Weekly summary:
A loss was expected in a week with lots of upheaval.  I will not tolerate this any longer.  Taurine seems to be working well and I will be very interested in the ceruloplasmin results.  I am confident that I will be successful in staying off caffeine and Vitamin C.
Distance= 30.0/ GPA= 23.0/8= 2.88
YTD: 1,231 miles.  Record: 16-19 with a 2.67 GPA