Training 2/13-2/19

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2/13- Lakeshore 2.5 in 21:38 (8:39 pace) plus a half mile cool.  Never did have a good pace and did not slow much further on the back half.  Too much MF.  Not a surprise that I struggled today.  There was a MAJOR discovery last night that merits a separate post.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=3.0

2/14- Same MF dose as yesterday with NO GREENS.  No better than yesterday if not slightly worse.  3 miles at Gold's in a time of 26:34 (8:51 pace).  PLUS 12 over an extra half mile so that's essentially the same.  Dose will be cut bigly tomorrow and IT BETTER NOT GO BACK UP!  Still not sure about the effects of the GREENS.  Dose likely needed to be cut with or without them.  Plan is intervals tomorrow.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=3.0

2/15- AM- Intervals.  5x3 laps at Gold's.  Did not even try to run without MF and would have been over 10:00 if I did.  I started at 800 and increased it in increments of 400 until I got beyond the sweet spot.  Here are the results:
800- 2:52 (8:36 pace)
1200- 2:32 (7:36 pace) MINUS 60 because of ONE PILL!!!!
1600- 2:11 (6:33 pace) MINUS 63
2000- 1:56 (5:48 pace) MINUS 45
2400- 2:08 (6:24 pace) PLUS 36
  If I had gone up to 3600, the pace would have slipped over 8:00 and over 9:00 at 5000.
Most likely, the current sweet spot is somewhere between 1800 and 2000.  I was noticeably weaker on 2400 and needed an all out kick at the end to do as well as I did.  With the same effort, it would have been on par with 1600 if not slightly worse.
REACTION:
If the sweet spot stays constant or even goes down slightly, it's an acceptable outcome.  However, my gut tells me that it will go up and down and without further treatment, I'll never feel anywhere near my best.  Lynch's site seems to think that methylation causes increased cell division and thus my electrolytes have decreased by too much when I take more MF.  What I'd like to see happen is an improvement with every pill up to the sweet spot WITHOUT a sharp decline when I go beyond it.  Any chance of that happening?  He does sell a special drink mix to replenish electrolytes.  I'll give the GREENS a shot tomorrow but I really don't think they will have much impact.

PM- Canterbury 3.5 mile loop with barely enough daylight after work.  Finished in 27:32 (7:52 pace) which is not half bad on a hilly route.  On 2000, I would have cruised it at 7:30 pace.  On 4000, the pace would have been over 9.  As it is on 2400, I'll take it.
Grade:C+/2 credit/distance=5.5

2/16- AM- Trial and error with GREENS.  It was immediately apparent that MF was still needed.  Started on 1600 and did 6 laps in a weak 5:14 (7:51 pace) then 6 more on 2000 and improved only marginally to 5:03 (7:35 pace) then tacked on a 1.5 lap cool.  The verdict on the GREENS is NAY.  It seems that the sensitivity was reduced but I was MUCH weaker on every dose and it did NOT seem to change the sweet spot.  Heart was not into this one and I will likely take the evening off.
Grade:C-/1 credit/distance=1.5
I will re-order Yasko's All in One and give Lynch's MTHFRade a shot.

PM- No running but I did try Niacin and it may be an option to reduce the effects of too much methylation.  I had no immediate effects but an intense flushing sensation that lasted about 2 hours kicked in about 15-20 minutes after taking the pill.  Overall, I felt better initially but the dose was too high and it increased my need for MF.  It altered the sweet spot and I'm unsure if it would have done anything about the sensitivity.  VERDICT:  Small dose is probably okay but large dose is a BIG NO NO!  Tomorrow, I will try PABA.

2/17- PABA could be a winner. I thought it had a chance because it is a "folic acid precursor".  When taking Yasko's Ultimate B, I was poor all around but the MF seemed to make little difference one way or the other.  That tells me there's a key ingredient in there that is bad for me but another one that reduces the sensitivity.  I figured PABA was the most likely answer.
Workout began with 1200 MF and no PABA:
1200w/no PABA- 2:35.0 (7:45 pace).  Struggled as expected but likely could have gone sub-8 for 3 miles with an all out effort.
1200 w/PABA-1:53.3 (5:40 pace) No radical shift in mood but legs had POWER.
2000 w/PABA- 1:49.7 (5:29 pace).  BOOM!
2800 w/PABA- 1:53.1 (5:39 pace).  Not quite as strong as the previous interval but a WHOLE lot better than 2 days earlier when I went beyond the sweet spot.  I'll bet I could have done sub-6 pace at 3600 as well.
Not much left after that so I just jogged 6 more laps to get to 2 miles.
REACTION:
This is EXACTLY what I was looking for.  PABA did not alter the sweet spot but DID SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE MY SENSITIVITY.  Too soon to get my hopes up but I see a chance of success with this formula.
Grade:A/1 credit/distance=2.0

2/18- Downer.  Slept in and ran solo rather than the group run in a chilly rain.  It cleared up later and I was out on Lakeshore for an attempted long run.  I probably could have finished 10 but the back half would have been EXTREMELY ugly.  Quit after 4 miles in 31:51 (7:58 pace) with splits of 15:04-16:47.  This will do for an easy day.  I'm betting that my PABA dose must be limited.  I loaded last night and this morning.  I'll try again tomorrow.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=4.0

2/19- Took only 1 PABA pill today and it was a disaster.  Did a 1 mile junk run on Wisteria just to hit a round number on the week.  It was untimed but I'd be surprised if it was much below 12 minutes.  PABA was most definitely the culprit.  That's right.  The same stuff that looked like a miracle on Friday turned out to be disastrous on Sunday.  Nothing new for me and it's why I don't get my hopes up without a good medical report.  I will definitely lay off it for a couple days then try it again at a lower dose.  Yasko's All In One does contain a minuscule amount but it's likely not enough to make an impact one way or the other.  Most B-complex pills contain PABA at a 50-100 mg dosage so that's what I'll try next week.   NYC is only 4 weeks away so time to get well is running short.

PM- Tacked on another mile just because I was bored.  Clocked a 9:42 on Wisteria.  Tomorrow, I am going with just a trace of PABA.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=2.0

Weekly summary:
What a roller coaster but then again, what else is new?
Distance=21.0/ GPA= 14.3/8= 1.79
YTD: 172 miles.  0-6 with a 1.54 GPA