Training 11/27-12/3

11/27- Gold's 5 in 39:49 (7:58 pace).  Not a real good workout but I'll take it.  Stretching a standard issue run from 3 miles to 5 is key to getting the yearly mileage total back up to the 2000 range.  As for the pills, I could tell without running that Ultimate B does not provide enough PABA to take NADH.  There is a sweet spot somewhere between 50 mg-500 mg of stand alone PABA BUT if I miss the mark, I will NOT be horrible.  I have ordered 100 mg stand alone PABA and there will be an interval session when it arrives.  I took 500 today and found a sub-8 pace to be fairly comfortable over this distance in spite of clearly taking too much.  Splits were very even as well but the top 2 gears were inaccessable.  Stay tuned for a 2nd and hopefully LAST final outcome post.
Grade:C+/1 credit/distance=5.0

11/28-AM- Cut the PABA down to an estimated 400 mg and felt a noticeable improvement over yesterday.  4 miles in 30:45 (7:41 pace) with even splits.  Figure that's worth a MINUS 15 over yesterday so that's enough to be significant but not a night and day difference.  I am closer to the sweet spot but I still think PABA was too high.  I'm betting that it could be as low as 100 mg.  I'd like to increase the NADH but those pills are very expensive.  May or may not be back out this evening.

PM- Just could not waste a beautiful clear 60 degree evening.  There won't be many more like this for a while.  Tacked on 3 more at Lakeshore in 22:50 (7:37 pace) plus a cool.  Pretty much a carbon copy of the morning session but maybe a little better.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=7.5
Update:
I read something from a scholarly article that was very intriguing.  If it's true, it makes a LOT of sense.  Excessive benzoic acid is most probably the cause of the sensitivity.  Though PABA (Para Amino Benzoic Acid) in small quantities helps immensely with MTHFR and glycine conjugation, it most definitely makes the sensitivity to other stuff WORSE.  My lab test results showed it to be mildly elevated but not in the stratosphere as I would have thought based on my reactions to certain pills.  The big nugget of new information is that ATP increases tolerance for benzoic acid.  Thus, an ATP deficiency makes symptoms of a mildly elevated benzoic acid level MUCH WORSE!  That's why NADH has been so effective.  When I take the NADH, I won't be horrible even if I take too much PABA but lowered doses are still better.
Again, more to come later.

11/29- Planned rest day but I woke up early enough to do a 2 mile quickie.  Finished in a strong 13:44 (6:52 pace).  PABA dose was cut to approximately 300 and I am close to the sweet spot now.  I know that extra NADH will increase tolerance to PABA but will it increase demand?  We'll see.
Grade:B+/2 credit/distance=2.0

11/30- AM-I read that Creatine aids in the conversion process from useless ADP to ATP so I gave it a shot last night.  For reasons that I don't yet understand, it was a disaster.  It took me nearly 15 minutes to get through a 1.5 mile junk run.  I may be back this evening but unless I am a LOT better, this will be an "F."  My curiosity doesn't seem to end.  I may give Yasko's SHMT another shot because it supposedly does the opposite.

PM- 3 miles in 25:46 (8:35 pace).  Just like always, the first run after a poison pill is beyond awful but the 2nd one is an improvement.  Tomorrow will be better and I should be back to normal by Saturday.  I will need an excellent long run to win.
Grade:D/1 credit/distance=4.5

12/1- VERY INTERESTING.  Half mile Intervals with PABA and 1 NADH pill:
Opener- 4:45 (9:30 pace)
100 mg- 3:54 (7:48 pace)
200 mg- 3:10 (6:20 pace)
300 mg- 3:08 (6:16 pace)
Additional NADH did INDEED increase the demand for PABA.  I didn't do any intervals on 2-3 NADH pills but I was noticeably weaker and treated the next mile as a cool.  I did get better after more PABA.
Grade:B/1 credit/distance=3.0
Reaction:
The sweet spot is most probably 250 for 1 NADH pill and if I am to miss the target, it's better to miss high.  I can have a decent workout on 500 but not on 100.  The more NADH I take, the more PABA is needed and it is probably a ratio.  I'm betting that 2 NADH and 500 PABA ought to do me fine.

12/2- Long run disappointment.  2 NADH and 500 PABA did NOT work for me.  Did 8 miles from O'Henry's in 71:46 (8:58 pace) with each mile slower than the previous one.  Dragged on for 2 extra miles on Lakeshore as a cool down.  Simply put, 1 NADH is all that is tolerated right now.  Extra PABA may help but it's not enough.  I'll be glad I did this after Christmas if I'm still short of 1500.
Grade:D+/2 credit/distance=10.0

12/3- 4 miles on Lakeshore in 33:40 (8:25 pace).  Not pretty but I did what I planned.  After taking 3 NADH the previous 2 days, it will just take time to get back to equilibrium.  Today, it was an even pace.  Never felt good but didn't die either.
Grade:D+/1 credit/distance=4.0

Weekly summary:
Tough loss but I learned a lot with the experiments.  I'm not expecting to be free from trouble from here on out but it should be a pretty safe bet that it will be a lot smoother.  Very respectable mileage total as well.  I need just 100 miles in the final 4 weeks to hit 1500.  Even if I lose a full week, it's still do-able.
Distance= 36.0/ GPA= 2.20
YTD: 1400 miles.  13-33 with a 2.26