Training 9/4-9/10

I've written last week off as a loss.  I ran only 9 miles and all but 1 session was horrible.  I needed Whole Food C and did not have access to it when I was out of town so I took the weekend off.

9/4- 2 miles on Wisteria after a long drive with detours.  Finished in 17:30 (8:45 pace) with splits of 8:10-9:20.  It appears that the ULTIMATE IN CRUELTY may have become a reality.  Glycine is needed to solve the sensitivity issues but I cannot tolerate it.  Any other options?  Yes.  Another precursor, aggressive probiotic use and/or phospho serine.  I won't give up until I am defeated and that's not until 7 weeks from now but it sure is not looking good.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=2.0

UPDATE: I looked at some of my old tests from last year.  Benzoate was indeed tested. Yes, it was high and bad enough to be flagged but it was not in the stratosphere.  It's possible that there is another way besides glycine to lower the Benzoate, which is still quite likely to be the smoking gun.  I still believe it is possible but unlikely that when Iron is regulated, Benzoate will go down on its own.

9/5- First day back off the glycine.  Dipped under the Mendoza line.  3 miles in 23:30 (7:50 pace).  Still very sore but a sub-8 pace was manageable.  Still no other sensitivity issues but that could kick in bigly within 2-3 more days.
Grade:C/1 credit/distance=3.0

9/6- Defeat seems inevitable now.  1 Mile in 9:25 and the culprit was the SHMT spray (glycine precursor).  Interestingly, the bottle says that it is for "Iron related bacterial issues" so there is still a chance that Iron regulation will solve this mess.  That leaves me with the phospho serine, aggressive probiotic use and lowered Ferritin from blood donation as the only other ways to reduce the Benzoate.  I will hope against hope that the sensitivity does not flare up if I continue to do the right things and if it does, perhaps occasional glycine will do the trick.  Again, I will not give up until I am beaten and that's not for another 6.5 weeks.

PM- Another 1 mile at Vestavia on a beautiful evening.  Did the first 400 in 2:07 then popped extra MF hoping to counteract the glycine.  It was a non-factor.  Next lap was 2:08 then jogged the next 2 at glacial pace.
Grade:F/1 credit/distance=2.0

9/7- AM- 3 miles at Gold's in 25:26 (8:29 pace).  Started off at 8:10ish then slipped to the 8:40 range.

PM- Another 3 miles this time from the Trak Shak on a beautiful evening.  Managed to dip under the Mendoza line with a time of 23:39 (7:53 pace).  This is par for the course on the day after a collapse.  Still not sensitive to anything else besides the glycine and its precursors but that could change within the next 2 days.  Passed 1000 miles on the year.  I've fallen behind 1500 pace but I still have a chance to come back.
Grade:C-/2 credit/distance=6.0

9/8- Planned rest day.

9/9-AM- COMPLETE DISASTER!  The sensitivity has returned and the glycine is not tolerated.  Abstinence from caffeine is my only chance now.  1 mile out and back in around 11 minutes.

PM- Another mile this time at Vestavia track and improved to 8:48 with an even pace.
Grade:F+/1 credit/distance=2.0

9/10- AM- Lakeshore 2.5 in 21:10 (8:28 pace).  Baby steps forward.  The only thing I'm doing differently is caffeine abstinence.  Adrenal spike hit hard yesterday and will slowly die down over the next 5-7 days.

PM- Another 2.5 mile this time at Vestavia track.  Improved to 19:13 (7:41 pace).  That's a good time for a 5K but not a 4K.  Full kilometer behind my peak but improving rapidly.  I'll try glycine again in a few days and it's quite possible that it will be tolerated.  Weather today is sunny and 80 with a mild 10 mph breeze.  Tomorrow will be 60 and rainy with a sustained 30 mph wind.  Well Beavis, it's gonna suck!
Grade:C/2 credit/distance=5.0

Weekly summary:
3rd straight bad loss.  Next week is a must win but I think I have a good chance to deliver.
Distance= 20.0/ GPA= 10.7/8 = 1.34