Training 2/17-2/23

2/17- 3 mile recovery jog on Lakeshore.  Glad to have the day off for President's Day.  Finished in 28:28 (9:29 pace).  That's fine with me.  Effort was in the easy range.  I can't jump back into it so soon after a race anymore.  If you dig deeper, there is more good news.  Did the first half in 14:29 without any probiotics then improved to 13:59 on the back half after popping 2 pills (MINUS 20).  That's what I want to see.  A single pill won't make a significant difference.  Even a big load won't cause a night and day change BUT I am improving with treatment.  Effort was even on both halves too.  That's it for today.
Distance=3.0

2/18- 4 miles at Gold's (sick of all this rain) in a time of 34:32 (8:38 pace).  Rather mediocre effort but at least I'm not collapsing.  Still, the energy is not coming around like I hoped it would.  There may yet be another missing piece.  On the bright side, the pace was pretty even (17:12-17:20) with a decent pick up at the end.
Distance=4.0

2/19- Trak Shak 3.  Just enough daylight to do it.  Finished in 23:24 (7:48 pace).  Below the Mendoza line and felt noticeably better too.
Distance=3.0

2/20- Gold's 4 in 31:19 (7:50 pace).  The rain has finally stopped but it will turn cold.  That's okay.  Spring is just around the corner now.  Much better than the same workout 2 days ago but not significantly better than yesterday.  Struggled a bit once again in the back half.  Splits were 15:28-15:51 and I was working to keep the pace below 8.  No collapse.  If I make it through the weekend, it will be 2 weeks.
Distance=4.0

2/21- Interesting.  Did a few sprints of roughly 200 meters in the morning.
Without Caffeine- 50
With Caffeine- 44
Probiotics- 42
It's possible that caffeine gives me a temporary boost so going off may produce some negative effects but I know I won't crash.  It's possible that the first interval was slow because I wasn't warmed up.  Probiotics did help but it wasn't significant.  That's good.  Looks like I can get by without probiotics at least for a few days just like the other treatments.
Distance=0.5

2/22- AM- CRASH.  2 miles in 20:46 (10:23 pace) with a 2nd mile over 11 minutes.  I need Methyl Folate AND TMG after all.  Tacked on a half mile with the MF but no TMG and wasn't much better.  Time was 5:33.

PM- Took the TMG and managed to get through the long run.  10 miles on Lakeshore in 95:32 (9:33 pace).  Not pretty but I got through it and held the pace well too.  First half- 47:15, 2nd half- 48:17.  Showed life with a last mile in 8:32.  I believe I had a sub-2:05 half in me today.  It usually take 2-3 days before getting back to equilibrium after getting back on a needed pill.  This does NOT count as a crash because I bounced back the same day.
Distance=12.5

Reaction:
I can get by without a key pill for at least 5, maybe 6 days but NOT 7.  I'm okay with that.  It's still "under control" right now but the energy still hasn't come around like I hoped it would.

2/23- AM- 3 mile recovery jog at Montreat in 26:49 (8:56 pace).  I'm okay with this.  I can't expect to bounce back from a double digit run the next day.  Pace stayed around 9 give or take most of the way but it took a last lap rally to get under overall. 

PM- Interesting.  Limited myself to 1 mile also at Montreat to avoid too much mileage too soon.  Came through free and easy at 7:40 and it felt sustainable for 2 more miles, which would have been my best effort of the week.  Again, this was done just 1 day after a 10 miler.  The difference was a shot of caffeine.  So there you have it.  I won't collapse after quitting caffeine but I will feel a bit sluggish for the first couple of days off it.  I believe it will be worth it in the end.  More importantly, cheating will NOT trigger a relapse thanks to the probiotics.
Distance=4.0

-31 miles on the week.  I'll look to stay in the 30 range in March then boost it to 35 in April.