Reflections

Current State:
The Sarcosine has enabled me to tolerate the stuff that I really need (Vitamin C).  That said, I really thought I was bulletproof, meaning that a single dose of any non-poison pill, would NOT have a significant negative impact.  Maybe I'd get nicked a bit if I took mega doses of a pill that my chemistry in the wrong direction but nothing severe.  The days of terrible reactions from a trace of a seemingly harmless pill were over.  WRONG!

NADH was bad but the ill-effects were mitigated by the Sarcosine so it wasn't that big of a deal.  Then, I had a NASTY reaction to Taurine but that happened after I significantly increased the dose so I was alarmed but not defeated.  The last straw was Apple Cider Vinegar.  Just a small sip no larger than tablespoon triggered another HORRIBLE reaction and this time, Sarcosine did little to help.  Again, this should NEVER happen to a healthy person.

Culprit:
Most likely, it is excess sulfur.  This was a major focus of my plan throughout 2015-16 but I eventually gave up on it because EVERY SINGLE treatment produced the same old flu like malaise even at minuscule doses.  NOW, thanks to Sarcosine, anti-sulfur products such as Yucca are TOLERATED.  In fact, on my first trial with it yesterday, I saw YUGE improvements of 1:40 per mile after just 1 single pill.  Increased methylation does indeed increase the sulfur load and I am compound hetero on the critical CBS mutation.  In short, Sarcosine increases methylation, which in turn increases the sulfur load, which exceeded the toxic threshold.  The recent success with Yucca provides reason for optimism going forward.

Energy level:
Like I said, all I want out of this is a stable cocktail with a decent level of energy everyday.  I may still be stable provided I don't mess with anything new but do NOT have energy.  Even with diminished fitness, workouts of 3-4 miles at 8:15-8:35 pace should be a walk in the park.  That didn't happen.  I wouldn't go as far as to say last week's workouts were hard for me but they did require moderate effort and if going all out, I would not have been much below the Mendoza line (3 @ 8:00 pace).  Still, I am okay with that so long as I have decent energy throughout the day.  That didn't happen.  I was somewhere around the energy level of Jeb Bush on the campaign trail.  Like Garth Brooks says, I am much too young to feel this damn old.  I'm pushing 40 now and can't expect to do what I did 6-7 years ago but I am performing and probably feeling like someone in his 50s not late 30s.  Something must be done about that.  Yucca could be the answer.

Any regrets:
Nothing major.  I know I've said this before but if I knew my window for setting PRs was going to close sooner than expected, I would have jumped into more local 5Ks and tried more all out time trials on the days that I knew I was hot.  I just missed the sub-5:15 Mile and sub-19 5K and the potential to break both was definitely there under the right conditions.  I did get the 3 that I wanted most (beat 1 HS PR, sub-40, sub-90) so I'm still proud of what I did accomplish.  I'm glad that I am being aggressive in my pursuit of the 50 states challenge because I know that next year is not guaranteed.  I'm afraid I'll soon have to limit myself to 10K and below so the goal may have to be reduced to simply an organized race in all 50 states.  At least in that case, Saturday/Sunday combos are do-able.

Weight:
I've shot up nearly 15 pounds in the last few months up to 175.  I'd like to be 160 or below so I've got a lot of work to do if I want to lose it.  I may just have to watch my calories like most everyone else if I want to lose it.   Again, my appearance is not the most important thing to me.  If I feel decent, I don't care about being a few pounds heavy.  Yes, I am a few inches thicker in the waist but I'm afraid that's inevitable especially after you hit 35.  In my case, it's not all in the gut.  A few people have commented that I've "got some muscle on me" nowadays and one person even asked me if I've been lifting in addition to running.  The answer is no.  Turns out that methylation INCREASES muscle mass.  If I feel better at 170 versus 160 or find it too difficult to lose 15, so be it.

Last option?
I've lost track on the number of times that I've said it's now or never.  If this new plan doesn't work out, it's all over.  I'm out of options.  Every time, another possibility has come up.  Can it happen again?  Yes, it could.  I may have another piece of the puzzle to solve.  Still, this has GOT to turn around soon even if it's just a few decent weeks of training.  I must say with regret that with every disappointment and setback in this war, my faith and trust gets knocked down a notch.  I'll never walk away from it but I can't see myself going back to writing devotionals.  Another factor is that all my friends are married and finding a group of faithful never marrieds my age is difficult.  As for the blog, the current plan is to shut down the training updates at the end of 2018 barring a miracle comeback.  I'll post monthlies with more road trip pictures and political commentary.