Final Outcome Part 2

Last 9 Weeks:

Even with a loss this week, I will be 5-4 with a GPA around 2.90 so far in the 4^th quarter of 2017.  If I can simply manage to go 2-2 down the stretch, it will be my first quarter with a winning record since Q3 2014 and provides reason for optimism in 2018.  I wanted to run a 5K under 21 and a half under 1:40.  I fell short of those goals but not by much.  I am nearly certain that I am capable in the 5K and lost some motivation when I saw the Junction course would be short.  As for the Magic City half, I think I was good for a sub-1:41 on a flat course despite my pills being slightly off.  To put it another way, I am right on the edge of my often stated respectable times of 21/45/1:40 in spite of spotty training.  If I can simply run these times consistently, it is indeed an acceptable outcome even if further improvements are minimal with more consistent training.  Of course, the only thing that prevents that from happening is sensitivity to pills

Sensitivity:

In my last post, I said that glycine taken with PABA would knock out the sensitivity and prevent unexplained reactions to benign pills such as Calcium or Vitamin C, which may be necessary for optimal health and performance.  I thought the sweet spot was 1000 glycine with a flexible PABA dose.  That turned out to be wrong.  Instead, I need a 3 pronged approach of glycine, PABA and NADH.  The sweet spot for glycine is still 1000 mg but the PABA is tricky.  I found that 2 of Yasko’s Ultimate B pills provided just the right amount of PABA to knock out the sensitivity but no amount of stand-alone PABA without the Ultimate B could do the trick.  Also, the fact that I needed exactly 2 (either 1 or 3 was disastrous) was unusual and made me feel uneasy about a possible moving target in the future.    Therefore, something else had to be in play. 

I am virtually certain that this something is an ATP deficiency.  You may remember from your high school biology class that ATP stands for Adenosine Tri-Phosphate and is the molecule that provides energy for muscle contraction.  I also have a strong feeling that this deficiency prevents me from reaching my max heart rate and thus access to my highest gear.  My average HR at Magic City was only 138, which is MUCH too low for an all-out effort.   In the past, I was attacked personally and accused of lying about my training because I could come close to race pace then come back for more the next day yet underperformed when it counted.  The truth is that the workouts were really NOT too hard for me but when I tried to dig deep for extra power, it just wasn’t there even though I never felt too uncomfortable.  NADH has been the most effective treatment for me in this area.

I learned a couple very important nuggets of information in the past 2 weeks.  The culprit of the sensitivity is almost definitely an elevated level of benzoic acid.  PABA is a precursor to folic acid and has helped immensely with MTHFR issues and glycine conjugation but it stands for Para-Amino Benzoic Acid.  Thus, it should be no surprise that it worsens the sensitivity and indeed the more PABA is taken, the worse the reactions are to benign supplements.  I’ve also learned that ATP increases tolerance for benzoic acid.  Thus, a patient with a mildly elevated level of benzoic acid but plenty of ATP won’t suffer any ill-effects but a patient with an ATP deficiency could face severe symptoms.  My latest workout confirms beyond doubt that NADH will increase the demand/tolerance for PABA.

Further Questions:

There are still a few issues to be resolved but no matter what, I feel pretty good about the long-term prognosis.  Why did I react so badly to Creatine when it’s supposed to help regenerate ATP?  My urinary creatinine was elevated on a previous test and it probably put too much stress on the kidneys.  Yasko’s SHMT can help with that but I’m still not messing with Creatine again. 

I am going to try taking Cal and Vitamin C on a regular basis.  With the sensitivity gone, it won’t hurt me.  The worst that can happen is that it’s a non-factor and in that case, I’ll finish the bottle and be done with it.  Morley wants ceruloplasmin at 35 but if mine is 28 or higher (80%), I won’t worry about it.  Vitamin C will be taken only if it’s beneficial.  I’m still awfully leery about Liver and its Iron content even though it is certain to raise Cp.  As for the Iron Overload, my numbers are still a little north of ideal and I will continue with blood donation 2-3 times per year to keep that in check.  As for the adrenal support, will I do better on a suppressant (Thym-Adren) or a modulator (ADHS)?  Now, I can make the determination based on effectiveness rather than whether or not it is tolerated.  I will wait on the hair test for about 6 months because an adrenal spike often happens shortly after a major problem is solved. 

Goals for 2018 and Beyond:

In order to come close to my all-time PRs, I’ll need to train at 45 MPW with a lot more quality sessions.  I am really not sure if I will be motivated to do that.  We will see what life has in store.  I do intend to put myself on the dating market before Christmas.  Here are some long-term goals that ought to be realistic on 35-40 MPW with a bit more quality:

Mile: 5:40, 5K: 20:00, 10K: 42:00, Half: 1:34:00

I’ll give myself until 2020 (age 40) then it will gradually get worse from there. 

States that I want to hit are Vermont, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Utah.

It’s a bit of a surreal feeling to have this figured out after so many years.