2016 Review

I'm not going to sugarcoat it.  This was not a good year.  While I had several significant victories on the medical front, I have yet to see a increase in energy or improved performance. This could change when I get the Zinc RBC results but the real smoking gun has yet to be found.  With that said, this was a better year for me than 2015 and this is the first time since 2012 in which I feel that I am better off than I was 12 months ago.  I raced only 4 times, only one of which was halfway decent but I did run 1305 miles (25 MPW), which was over 200 more than last year and I had many more successful long runs.   This could be a year that will be viewed as laying the groundwork for future success.  Let's take a look month by month.

January:
Began the year nearly hopeless.  I was deficient in Lithium and B-12 but could not tolerate it because of the ATP deficit.  The ATP started working early in the year and Lithium was soon tolerated as well but by the end of the month, ATP failed.

February:
Not a good month for running but began what was my greatest travel year ever with a road trip to Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Began to add some B-12 by the end of the month.

March:
Finally topped 100 miles in a month and managed a couple decent long runs.  I began to require mega doses of B-12 and Lithium had to be stopped then re-started.

April:
Methylation block was obvious.  Many pills triggered an immediate negative reaction such that just a trace would cause my whole body to tighten up and both my mood and energy were shot for the rest of the day and into the next day.  Again, despite the constant adjustments, I managed decent mileage and set my sights on a May half marathon.

May:
Methylation block began to open up thanks to a product called Methyl Mate and my hair test showed that my B-12 had edged into the normal range.  Still very sensitive and required an exact cocktail on most days but got lucky with a good day in Kansas City (1:45 half)

June:
Forced off Lithium at an inopportune time just before a big race in Alaska but still enjoyed the trip immensely.

July:
Bombed at Peachtree but it seemed like I was really getting it all together this month.  I felt like I found THE cocktail and delivered my best run of the year which was a 20:48 solo 5K but it was short-lived.  Nice trip to the FLA Gulf Coast.

August and September:
Diagnosed with Iron Overload and the treatments produced more ups and downs

October:
GREAT trip to Lake Tahoe despite another mediocre race.  Looked toward oxalates in an effort to find the smoking gun but the OAT test proved that it was not the issue after all.

November:
Tried Vitamin D and Vitamin C with temporary success.  Had to skip Vulcan and Magic City.

December:
Attacking a probable Zinc deficiency, which I hope will also lower ferritin.  Cut out Cal and reduced B-12 and once again, I have reason to believe the formula is SET.  Improved tolerance to sulfur.

2017:
I really feel that I've done all I can and expect to get a resolution one way or the other within the first quarter of the year.  I don't expect to PR again but if I can avoid the relapses and train steadily at 40 MPW, I see no reason why I cannot get back under 20/42/1:34.  Hell, I'll settle for 21/45/1:40.  Thanks to improved Iron regulation, I am a bit more at peace about it and have less anger issues.  As I've said repeatedly, if you have a chemical imbalance, you WILL be depressed despite favorable external circumstances.  The only way to change that is to balance your chemistry, which can be very challenging if you have defective enzymes.  I am cautiously optimistic but a large part of me is expecting more of the same.

Preliminary Race Plans:
Mercedes Weekend- I definitely want to participate in something this year but may end up choosing the 5K.  I don't want to embarrass myself in a local race.

NYC Half- This one is on 3/19 and it's a definite.  I've already planned the trip and I'm really looking forward to it.

Summer- I'd like to do an epic road trip that includes Yellowstone, Glacier and the Canadian Rockies.  There will be 2 half marathons 7 days apart.  Other summer options include Seattle with a side trip to Vancouver and Spearfish Canyon in South Dakota.

Fall:
Too far off.  Depends on what kind of shape I am in.  Contenders include Detroit Free Press and a New England double.

Blog:
It's staying up but 2017 may be the last year that I do the training updates.  I'll keep posting travels, random rants and possibly more political commentary.  We shall see.